Santiago placed on bereavement list
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KANSAS CITY -- The Twins recalled reliever Buddy Boshers from Triple-A Rochester on Friday, as left-hander Héctor Santiago was placed on the bereavement list after the death of his grandmother.
Santiago's grandmother, Manuela "Nelly" Rivera, passed away Tuesday at the age of 80, and he'll miss this weekend's series against the Royals before returning to make his scheduled start Tuesday against the A's. The Twins decided to bring up a third lefty reliever in Boshers, giving them a nine-man bullpen for the three-game set at Kauffman Stadium.
"Given Hector's situation, we talked about the best way to complement our roster in his absence," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "They space out their left-handed hitters so it gives you more flexibility to have three lefties. If we need to go left-right-left, we can do it easier with our nine relievers instead of eight. It made the most sense to supplement pitching this weekend."
It's been an interesting week for Boshers, who was called up on Sunday, and tossed 2 1/3 hitless innings against the Tigers, only to get sent back down after the game because he wasn't going to be available to pitch for a few days. He didn't pitch at Triple-A in the interim, so he'll be fresh again this weekend.
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"Those things happen," Molitor said. "I think you have to make those hard decisions sometimes when a guy does his job, but doesn't get to stick around. He's smart enough to know and see the big-picture things. That's what he's shown in our conversations."
Boshers immediately saw action against Kansas City on Friday, recording two outs in relief of right-hander Kyle Gibson, who lasted 5 1/3 innings. But in the seventh, Boshers served up a solo homer to Brandon Moss and was removed for right-hander Ryan Pressly.
Worth noting
• First baseman ByungHo Park, on the Minor League disabled list with a strained right hamstring, played in his first extended spring training game in Fort Myers, Fla. on Friday. It was Park's first game action since April 10.
• The Twins are still waiting to hear more on Miguel Sanó's suspension appeal, and he was in the lineup Friday. Sano was suspended one game for his contact with Tigers catcher James McCann on Saturday, and Molitor believes they have a strong case to have it overturned.