A Schelling For Your Thoughts

MINNEAPOLIS — When the Twins were in the middle of their worst struggles in late May, lefty reliever Glen Perkins remained dominant. That is, until he joined the long list of Twins to hit the disabled list this season.

Perkins went down with a strained right oblique after leaving his outing on May 21 in Arizona, having faced just one batter. In his absence, the Twins have gone 12-10 without Perkins, including a 10-3 mark in June.

He was activated from the disabled list after Thursday’s 1-0 win over the White Sox, and on Friday, he’ll get his chance to be a part of the Twins’ current success. Fellow left-hander Chuck James was optioned to Triple-A Rochester to make room for him on the 25-man roster.

“[Joe] Nathan and I’d sit there, look at each other and think, ‘Man, it’d be fun to be out there,'” Perkins said. “We were home for that 10-day road trip, we were here in the morning every day, and we’d talk about the game the night before and wish we were a part of it. So, I’m definitely looking forward to getting back out there [on Friday].”

After posting a 1.59 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 22 appearances in the middle of the Twins’ struggling bullpen, Perkins has been forced to sit and watch as the staff has dominated this month.

The Twins finished Thursday with a Major-League best 1.80 ERA in June, with the bullpen having allowed just three earned runs since June 1 — for a 0.94 ERA over 28 2/3 innings pitched.

“It [stunk],” Perkins said. “And it’s even harder when the team starts playing well that you don’t get to be a part of it.”

In two rehab appearances with Triple-A Rochester, Perkins did not allow a run, while giving up four hits and striking out two batters in three innings of work.

After throwing one inning in his first appearance with the Red Wings, Perkins pitched a strong seventh and eighth on Tuesday.

“I tested it good on Tuesday,” Perkins said. “I threw pretty much everything as hard as I could, just to make sure that it was going to be OK.”