Danny Salazar is seeking to capitalize on his return to the majors and facing the light-hitting Minnesota Twins might give him the opportunity to impress.
The Cleveland Indians right-hander will try to stake his claim to a permanent place in the rotation beginning Saturday.
Salazar made 20 starts for the Indians in 2014, but was sent to Triple-A Columbus after posting an 8.18 ERA in spring training and laboring with his command.
"I think I was working a lot, but maybe I was focused on other things than pitching," Salazar told MLB's official website. "The whole offseason, I was working on building my body and all that. Maybe I was focusing more on that than pitching.
He's heading back to the big club because Cleveland (3-6) wants to try Zach McAllister as a reliever.
"I have to show them that I've been working hard," Salazar said. "I have to prove it."
Salazar went 6-8 with a 4.25 ERA in 2014 but was 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in three starts against Minnesota (4-6). He earned an 8-2 victory in his last matchup July 22 at Target Field, yielding one run in five-plus innings.
Salazar will face a Twins team that's batting .216 this season and scoring 3.0 runs per game. Minnesota, though, has gotten enough to win three straight contests.
The Twins won 3-2 in 11 innings on Trevor Plouffe's home run in Friday's series opener and finished with six hits while going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. He was 4 for 34 before that at-bat.
"The biggest thing is you just see the awful numbers on the scoreboard that you can't hide from," said Plouffe, who had a team-leading 80 RBIs in 2014 and batted a career-high .258. "But you just have to trust the process and know that's going to happen throughout the year. Can't get too low or too high."
Phil Hughes will attempt to lead Minnesota to its first four-game win streak since June by improving on his 4-1 record and 2.80 ERA in seven lifetime starts against Cleveland. He'll also seek to avoid losing his first three starts in a season for the first time in his career.
Hughes (0-2, 5.25 ERA) went 0-4 in 2008 but did not get a decision in his debut that season.
He had an improved performance from his first outing this season Sunday, allowing three runs in six innings in a 6-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox. He settled down after giving up two runs and five consecutive hits in the first.
The right-hander was charged with four runs in six innings against Detroit in the Twins' opener April 6.
The Indians haven't fared that much better at the plate than Minnesota, hitting .221 and averaging 3.2 runs. They've totaled seven runs in their last three contests while going 3 for 20 with runners in scoring position.
Cleveland did get Michael Brantley back in the lineup Friday after a four-game absence due to an ailing back. He went 2 for 5 and is batting .480 in his last six games against the Twins.
Minnesota's Brian Dozier is 7 for 11 with a home run and three doubles lifetime versus Salazar, but Plouffe is 1 for 11 with five strikeouts.
