Hit Parade

Seems like the only hits for the Twins lately are the kind you take, not the kind you make.

Castillo injured
...leadoff hitter Luis Castillo [left] the game in the sixth inning because of a sprained right ankle.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said it was a mild sprain that might keep the second baseman out for only one or two games.

"He's a pretty tough guy, so he'll want to get back out there as soon as possible," Gardenhire said. "But you never know with an ankle. That's a tough thing to have in the infield when you're stopping and going and all those things."

Cortisone shot ineffective for Radke

Twins veteran Brad Radke had another setback with his right shoulder Wednesday, and the team made plans to promote Scott Baker from Class AAA Rochester to take his next turn in the rotation.

That will come Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

After Johan Santana pitches today against the Kansas City Royals, the Twins will head to New York with these three pitchers lined up to face the Yankees: righthanders Carlos Silva, Baker and Matt Garza.

The bigger concern Wednesday was Radke, who left Friday's game in Chicago after two innings because of shoulder pain.

Radke, who has been pitching despite having a torn labrum in that shoulder, returned to the Twin Cities the next day to have another cortisone shot. Before trying to play catch Wednesday, he was still hoping to take the mound at Yankee Stadium.

"It's tolerable, I guess," Radke said. "We'll see."

After the short throwing session and a meeting with General Manager Terry Ryan, manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson, Radke said he would withhold comment until a later time.

"He doesn't have any arm strength, and he's still got a little bite in there," Gardenhire said. "We're going to skip a start and see if a little rest here will do him good."

Radke will try to play catch again early next week, Gardenhire said, and depending how he feels, the team will determine when and if he can return to the mound.