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Diamond shines again for Twins

By La Velle E. Neal III, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) –

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Twins lefthander Scott Diamond takes his lumps well.

Diamond on Sunday carved up another opponent as he led the Twins to a 4-3 victory over Toronto as the Twins split the four-game series at Target Field. The lefthander tossed seven shutout innings for the second consecutive start since being called up from Class AAA Rochester. Along the way Sunday, he was struck in the back of the left shoulder by J.P. Arencibia’s line drive in the second inning. He calmly picked up the ball, threw to first for the out, stretched between innings and went back to dealing.

(PHOTO: Minnesota Twins third base coach Steve Liddle, left, congratulated Brian Dozier after he hit his first major league home run in the 3rd inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sunday, May 13, 2012. Twins won 4-3.)

“We were concerned when he got hit with a line drive in his shoulder,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, “but he kept stretching in the dugout and got us through a solid seven innings, which was unbelievable, and he threw the ball fantastic.”

Those aren’t the lumps we’re talking about here.

Diamond was called up late last year and went 1-5 with a 5.08 ERA in seven starts. That made him 5-19 in stops with the Twins and at Rochester. Those are lumps.

Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson usually calls his pitchers during the offseason to see how their workouts are going and give them pointers on what they need to work on. Anderson was pleasantly surprised the first week of January when Diamond called him.

“He was getting on the mound and wanted to talk about it,” Anderson said. “That was the neat thing.”

Diamond wanted to sharpen his curveball, picking up a subject they left off on late last season. They also talked about how to remain composed in situations, especially late in games.

“I called him to check in and tell him my progress and see if there was anything he wanted me to address,” Diamond said.

Although Diamond was hit hard last season, he kept mental notes.

“I tried to pick everyone’s brain,” Diamond said. “I talked to the hitters. I talked to Michael Cuddyer. I talked to Carl Pavano, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer. I tried to talk to all the experienced guys about what they try to take into every game. I talked to Pavano a lot about how he continues to work late into games and how he’s been that kind of workhorse.”

The Twins got a solo homer from Brian Dozier in the third inning — his first major league home run — and added three more runs in the fifth, two coming on a single by Ryan Doumit.

Diamond stranded Rajai Davis at third base in the third inning. He got Ben Francisco to line into a double play to erase a runner at second in the fourth. Kelly Johnson slammed his helmet in frustration after he struck out on a Diamond curveball to end the fifth. Diamond mixed his pitches effectively, especially a curveball that definitely has more bite to it than it had last year.

Diamond pitched a 1-2-3 seventh before he was lifted after throwing 101 pitches, 63 for strikes. It was his way of finishing strong.

“I started off the game a little rocky,” Diamond said, “and to be able to finish off the game the way it went was pretty satisfying.”

He looks like a totally different pitcher, and his arrival has been a big boost to a rotation that entered Sunday 6-20 with a 6.57 ERA.

“He saw where you had to work at it and use all your pitches,” Anderson said. “Basically, that was a huge thing for him.”

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