Ricky Nolasco

The Twins announced on twinsbaseball.com that Tyler Duffey and left handed relief pitcher Ryan O'Rourke have been optioned to Triple-A Rochester. The move means veteran Ricky Nolasco has won the 5th spot in the Twins rotation to begin the season.

Twins starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco flew back to Minneapolis after feeling pain in his right pitching elbow during the game against Detroit Wednesday. He experienced pain when throwing to Alex Avila and stays in the game to face 2 additional hitters before leaving the game.

After giving up the game-winning run in the ninth to them in Thursday's game, the Twins let another one go to the Angels - losing 7-6 in 10 innings last night.

The Twins lost 6-4 in Anaheim to the Angels Thursday and were swept in the 3-game series. Ricky Nolasco allowed 11 hits and 6 earned runs in 6 innings to take the loss and drop to 4-6. His ERA is now 5.74.