Minn/KC over 5' -123 (1st 5 innings) (3x)
Radke has a tendency to give up runs early as he tries to get his shoulder loose, then settles down as the game goes on. I expect him to give up some early ones tonight. He had trouble getting loose his last start on Saturday and lasted only 3 innings. Below is an article from the St. Paul Pioneer Press that explains his shoulder problem:
Radke rationing what's left in his tank
Veteran focuses on last 12 regular-season starts
BY GORDON WITTENMYER
Pioneer Press
Brad Radke, who has started for the Twins nine times on Opening Day, said Monday that going on the disabled list is "not even an option" as he deals with the pain and discomfort in his pitching shoulder over the final two months of a season he says will be his last.
"I want to try to help the team get to the playoffs. I don't want to shut it down," he said. "It seems like when I try to throw, the more I do, the more it hurts. I still have to do some stuff (between starts) but not try to burn it out. I just need to save my bullets."
Radke, 33, has pitched with a labrum tear for about two years. That along with the inevitable wear and tear of almost 3,000 innings of professional baseball has made it increasingly difficult for him to loosen the shoulder enough to pitch effectively, much less without pain, even after a cortisone shot in mid-July.
Radke, 9-8 with a 4.91 earned-run average, had been one of the Twins' most effective starters during their two-month hot streak until Saturday, when he couldn't get the shoulder loose and couldn't consistently throw his fastball at more than 85 mph. He lasted three innings.
He is scheduled to start again Thursday in Kansas City.
"I'm just taking it day by day," he said.
The cortisone shot had little effect on the shoulder beyond giving him slightly better range of motion, he said. He might consider getting another one to see if it makes a difference, he said.
Beyond that, he'll continue to avoid throwing between starts to save everything he can for his final 12 outings.
He said he'll also consider something Twins broadcaster and former pitcher Bert Blyleven suggested: a hot towel wrapped behind his shoulder between innings to keep the joint warm and loose during games.
Team officials say a magnetic resonance imaging test earlier this season found that the tear in the shoulder has not worsened.
