Nolasco looks major league ready again

CEDAR RAPIDS – Excuse Ricky Nolasco if he never wants to set foot in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, again.

It's a good town with good people and everything. The cost of living is outstanding.

But every time the Minnesota Twins pitcher is here, it's for bad reasons. Injury Rehab, Part III took place Sunday at Veterans Memorial Stadium, with Nolasco showing he might just be major league ready again.

He threw an encouraging five innings for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, giving up just three hits and an unearned run in his temporary team's 3-2 loss to Kane County. The 32-year-old right-hander threw 66 pitches.

'Looked healthy,” said Kernels Manager Jake Mauer. 'I thought his fastball looked livelier than it did last year. He was very good. He slows it down, he spins it, pitches in. That's what a big leaguer looks like.”

'The main thing was just to get back into it,” Nolasco said. 'Throw pain free, nice and easy, and I was able to do that. I had to work out the kinks there in the first inning, just being back out there again. I thought I settled down, sat back real well on my back leg. Thought it was good. Threw some really good curveballs, and that was the main test, if I could snap off that curveball. That was good.”

Nolasco, who signed a four-year, $49-million contract with the Twins prior to the 2014 season, made two rehab appearances here last summer after being shut down with a sore elbow. He came into spring training significantly leaner and vowing to make up for a lost last season.

But he experienced elbow pain again after making a start April 8 at Detroit and was sent to the disabled list. An MRI showed no structural damage.

After some rest, the elbow discomfort subsided, he threw some bullpens with the Twins and was assigned to Cedar Rapids for Sunday's start. Nolasco drove back to the Twin Cities after the game and was going to confer with the Twins Monday morning about his next step.

He believes he's ready to be activated and pitch again for Minnesota.

'We wanted to take an aggressive approach on it, once we found out there was no damage in the ligament,” he said. 'I didn't want to take too many days off because I didn't want to lose everything I'd done in the offseason and spring training, to where I'd have to build everything back up again.

'Everything was good today. I feel ready to go.”

Kane County (8-10) hit some balls hard off of Nolasco, especially early. Grant Heyman reached on a two-out, bad-hop single in the first inning and scored when Steve McQuail hit a long drive to the warning track in center field that Kernels center fielder Tanner English dropped for a three-base error.

McQuail also doubled to right-center leading off the fourth, but Nolasco pitched around that. His fastball velocity was consistently 90 to 92, and he was able to mix in his changeup and a very good breaking ball.

He hooked up the Kernels with prime rib, macaroni salad and roasted potatoes after the game.

'The kids are hacking down here,” he said. 'It's a different game. But I get it. They want to go out there and hack off me, get a hit off me, and that's OK. That was to my advantage. I pitched backward a little bit there towards the end, which helped me a lot get some real good work on my changeup.”

The Kernels (11-7) were swept in this three-game series, struggling again offensively. Unlike a double-header loss Saturday, they did put runners on base but stranded 12 of them, going 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position.

Kane County scored twice in the seventh against reliever Michael Theofanapoulos for the winning runs. English homered leading off the bottom of the ninth, but stranded runners on first and second.

Max Murphy grounded to third to end the game. Cedar Rapids has Monday off, then begins a three-game commuter series at Quad Cities.

They return home Friday against Clinton.

'What'd we score, four runs in three games in this series?” Mauer said. 'That's a shame.”

Click on the 'Video” icon to watch a full post-outing interview with Nolasco. Click on 'Box” for a look at the boxscore.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com