CLEVELAND -- The Twins needed 14 innings from their bullpen over their three games in two days at Baltimore last weekend.

All of that work made the relief corps quite thin for Monday's series opener against the Indians.

That concern over the depth in the 'pen grew even bigger as right-hander Jesse Crain was not with the team on Monday. Crain's wife, Becky, went into labor with their second child back in the Twin Cities, and Crain flew back to be with her for the birth of their daughter. Avery Margaret Crain was born at 8:21 p.m. CT on Monday at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, weighing in at 7 lbs, 6 ounces and measuring 20 inches long.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said he's unsure whether Crain might make it back on Wednesday for the series finale against the Indians or if he'll just rejoin the team in St. Petersburg on Thursday.

In addition to being without Crain, Gardenhire said the Twins are also without right-hander Boof Bonser for the time being. Bonser strained his lower back on Saturday, and although he said it was feeling better on Sunday, the Twins are unsure of when they will be able to use the pitcher.

But the Twins may have found another potential option for late-inning situations in left-hander Jose Mijares. Gardenhire has really liked what he's seen from the hard-throwing rookie southpaw.

Mijares threw a total of 2 1/3 scoreless innings in two appearances this past weekend. After throwing 39 total pitches between Saturday and Sunday, Mijares was not available on Monday. Mijres is one of four lefties that the Twins currently possess in their bullpen. That includes Dennys Reyes, Criag Breslow and Eddie Guardado. Still, Gardenhire said he's not afraid to use the 24-year-old lefty Mijares in tight situations in the future.

"I think [Mijares] has shown he can throw the ball over [the plate] in all situations," Gardenhire said. "So absolutely we'll use him. I definitely like what I see out of him."

Pitching matchup
MIN: LHP Francisco Liriano (5-3, 3.19 ERA)
Liriano delivered yet another strong start for the Twins, pitching eight innings and allowing just two runs to the Royals, but he walked away with a no-decision. It was the first time that Liriano had pitched into the eighth inning this season for the Twins and marked his longest start since July 28, 2006 vs. Detroit. Next up for Liriano will be a start against the Indians at Progressive Field. Liriano has not been nearly as dominant on the road as he's been at home. Liriano is 1-2 with a 5.63 ERA in five road starts, including two very rough ones in April.

CLE: LHP Zach Jackson (0-3, 5.63 ERA)
Jackson has shown spurts of potential for the Tribe, but he's still searching for his first win and has now lost three straight starts. His outing against the Orioles wasn't particularly pretty, as he allowed five runs -- four earned -- on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts in six innings. He needed 92 pitches to get through the abbreviated outing. He'll look to be more efficient and effective against a Twins team he's never faced.

Tidbits
Carlos Gomez earned his first American League Player of the Week honor on Monday, after hitting .333 with 10 RBIs over the past seven days. Gardenhire was asked if the award might help the confidence of Gomez, who is batting .254 with 51 RBIs on the season. "I have a real hard time believing he lacks confidence. I think it's another diamond on the crown. I don't think he needs confidence. I'm happy for him and very excited for him. He had a very good week." ... Upon learning Monday that the name of the Twins' new ballpark, which opens in 2010, will be Target Field, Gardenhire had this response: "It's pretty cool, actually. It's a great Midwest company. ... Our people are very excited about that. And now we don't have to call it the new ballpark or the one being built anymore. We can just say it's going well over at Target Field, or Tar-zjay Field. That's what my wife calls it, Tar-zjay." ... Nick Punto went 1-for-3 with a double on Monday night. He's currently batting .455 (5-for-11) with one RBI on the road trip.

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Up next
• Wednesday: Twins (Scott Baker, 9-4, 3.57) at Indians (Cliff Lee, 22-2, 2.36), 6:05 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Twins (Glen Perkins, 12-4, 4.40) at Rays (James Shields, 13-8, 3.50), 6:10 p.m. CT
• Friday: Twins (Nick Blackburn, 10-9, 3.89) at Rays (Edwin Jackson, 11-11, 4.33), 6:10 p.m. CT