Lohse sent down, Bonser brought up

DETROIT -- Manager Ron Gardenhire had seen enough of right-hander Kyle Lohse to realize that the Twins, a team struggling to get above .500, couldn't afford to keep Lohse in their starting rotation.

So with no opening in the bullpen for Lohse, Gardenhire did the only thing he could do Wednesday: He optioned Lohse to Triple-A Rochester.

"It's about a 9.00 ERA and not getting people out," he said of Lohse's demotion. "I guess if you go back to 'old school' baseball, that's 'old school' baseball. You're not getting it done, you go back [to the Minors].

"A lot more is involved these days, but this is the bottom line here: We're trying to win."

Owning a 2-4 record, Lohse made winning games difficult for the Twins. Over eight starts, Lohse compiled a team-worst 8.92 ERA.

The way the teams ahead of the Twins in the AL Central have been playing, Gardenhire said he needed to shore up the starting rotation. He couldn't keep sending an ineffective starter out to the mound game after game.

He made the decision to option the 27-year-old Lohse after his performance Tuesday night in a 7-4 loss to the surprising Tigers. In that outing, Lohse showed the kind of problems that had dogged him in most of his starts this season.

He gave up runs, pitched behind in the count and didn't hold a 3-0 lead. His statistical line for the day was 2 2/3 innings, five runs and six hits. Lohse threw 65 pitches, 37 of which were balls.

To replace Lohse in the rotation, Gardenhire called up right-hander Boof Bonser, a rookie whom the Twins acquired from the Giants in the A.J. Pierzynski deal in November 2003.

Gardenhire said Bonser had been pitching well for Rochester, where he sported an 11-9 record and a 3.99 ERA for the Red Wings last season. He'll slide into Lohse's spot, which means he'll start Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.

But the move was more about the unimpressive work of Lohse, who'd spent the last four seasons in the Majors, than it was about the 24-year-old Bonser. Lohse's work forced Gardenhire and the Twins to look for an alternative.

"We've had so many guys struggling up here that I'm not gonna just sit there, because I think we're that close," Gardenhire said. "We're scoring runs. We're giving ourselves a chance to win baseball games.

"We have to get better starting pitching, and the only way I know to do that is to keep moving guys around."