FanHouse AnthonySwarzak

Bad news for the Twins coming from Rochester tonight, as it's being reported that Kevin Slowey was scratched from his rehab start with the Rochester Red Wings and his headed back to Minneapolis to be examined by club doctors. Slowey's been trying to rehab from chips in his pitching elbow without surgery, though that now seems like it won't be possible.

For now, it means that 23 year-old Anthony Swarzak will remain in the Twins rotation. Swarzak's no Slowey, but he's been an able replacement in his first seven big league starts with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Twins can probably expect that to jump a bit due to some iffy walk and strikeout rates, but keeping Swarzak in the rotation at least for now isn't the end of the world.

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the milestones keep coming for Albert Pujols. He went into the record book in grand fashion Friday night, belting his 31st home run of the season. The drive was his fourth grand slam of the season and 10th of his career, both Cardinals' franchise records. The latter mark nudges him past Stan Musial on the club list.

"He broke Stan Musial's career record?" manager Tony La Russa asked. "I'll go bow to his feet here in a second. That's a serious point to make."

Pujols is on pace to finish 2009 with 61 home runs. And just in case that's not enough for you, it came in the eighth inning with the Cardinals down 3-0 to the Reds. St. Louis went on to beat Cincinnati 7-4.

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Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

"This concludes our test of the emergency attendance enhancement system. We now return to the regularly scheduled season."

Yes, the 13th season of interleague play wraps up Sunday, except for a Cubs-White Sox makeup game. We have survived six San Diego-Seattle games (that's more zeroes than an A-Rod paycheck).

We didn't learn much we didn't already know: the system has inherent flaws and the American League rules.

For the sixth straight year, the AL has had** the better record in interleague play – 129-108 going into today.

Take out Cleveland and Oakland, and the AL is 119-84.

"It probably is" as big a gap between leagues as in past years, one AL team official said, "until you get to the World Series. Then it doesn't matter."

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That Anthony Swarzak had a pretty nice big-league debut. Swarzak pitched seven scoreless innings, becoming the first pitcher in Twins history to pitch at least seven innings in his debut without allowing a run.

Swarzak gave up just five singles and two walks. He struck out three. What's more, he did it all in front of 40,457 -- many of them Brewers fans from neighboring Wisconsin. It was the largest crowd at the Metrodome since opening day.

"That's pretty special to step into the big leagues with that performance in a jam-packed stadium," manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Swarzak, a second-round pick in 2004, is probably going to be rewarded for his performance with a trip to the Twins bullpen (better than the minors). He was filling in for Glen Perkins, who is expected off the disabled list next week.

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Minor League Spotlight is the MLB FanHouse's look into baseball's minor leagues. But you probably figured that out already.

Usually in Minor League Spotlight, we cast our glare toward the impressive and noteworthy, like a player that hits really well or a weird promotion or something.

Today, we've got a whole different treat for you: minor league hooliganry! (If we were EDSBS, this would be the Fulmer Cup.)

First up: Twins fifth-ranked prospect Anthony Swarzak, who was suspended 50 games for violating the MLB's drug policy. Swarzak was apparently using "drugs of abuse" and not performance enhancing drugs, according to the Norwich Bulletin, which is either good news or bad news ... eh, it's probably just bad news all around.