Kyle

Lohse

Unless they’re down 2-1, the Twins plan to start Lohse in Game 4 against the Yankees. If they are losing, they could turn to Johan Santana on three days’ rest.

Lohse seems locked in as Minnesota’s fourth starter despite an awful 2004. Gardenhire didn’t make any announcements, but it’s clear Johan Santana, Brad Radke and Carlos Silva will start the first three games against the Mariners.

Lohse will start Game 3 of the first-round series against the Yankees at the Metrodome.

Lohse learned the pitch from his brother Eric, a Twins minor leaguer. “I’m getting real comfortable with it,” Kyle said. Lohse, a very solid starter for the first and final two months of last season, should be worth $7-$8 in AL-only leagues.

After a look by the trainer and two warm-up pitches, Lohse was deemed fine and continued to pitch, albeit poorly. This is worth keeping an eye on given Lohse’s struggles of late.

''We’ve already decided that,’' manager Ron Gardenhire said. ''We won’t skip anybody in the rotation because we think we’ve got five pretty good ones. That says a lot about Kyle.’'

Lohse did throw yesterday despite a massive bruise on the shoulder. He may not start tomorrow night against Tampa as scheduled, but should be able to pitch later in the week.

Lohse matched Felix Hernandez until Yuniesky Betencourt’s RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh. Despite turning in four quality starts, he’s 0-5 in his last seven outings.

Lohse gave up seven hits, but only Geoff Blum’s double went for extra bases. Unlike Joe Mays, Lohse won’t have to worry about being removed from the rotation down the stretch. Still, he’s someone the Twins should be considering parting with prior to next season.

Reds GM Wayne Krivsky dials up his old team once again. Lohse isn’t such a bad pickup. As a National Leaguer, there’s a chance he could be a reasonable fifth starter over the rest of the season. The Reds could give him a start Saturday and let Brandon Claussen (shoulder) continue to rehab in the minors. A healthy Claussen would be the better bet for the rest of the year, but the Reds don’t know if they’ll have one of them. Lohse can probably be left unowned in NL-only leagues for now.