CLEVELAND — Indians starter Jake Westbrook is expected to miss at least one month with a muscle strain in his lower back, an injury the team initially figured would keep him out only for a few starts.
Westbrook hurt himself while throwing a pitch to Minnesota’s Mike Lamb last Saturday. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 2.73 ERA in four starts.
Footnotes.
The Rangers continued to shuffle their struggling pitching staff, calling up right-hander Sidney Ponson from Triple-A Oklahoma to start against the Twins. To create a roster spot for Ponson, the Rangers sent right-handed reliever Kazuo Fukumori to Oklahoma.
• Dodgers third baseman Nomar Garciaparra (strained left calf) was placed on the 15-day disabled list for the second time this season, and Los Angeles recalled Blake DeWitt from Triple-A Las Vegas.
• Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz was scratched from the starting lineup against Tampa Bay because of a bruised right knee.
• Shelley Duncan was recalled from the minor leagues and started in right field for the Yankees, who sent left-handed reliever Billy Traber back to Triple-A before facing the Indians.
• Adam Lind, who was hitting .356 with three home runs and 15 RBIs for Triple-A Syracuse, was recalled by the Blue Jays, who optioned infielder Joe Inglett to Syracuse.
