Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire says right-hander Scott Baker will probably miss two starts because of tendinitis in his pitching elbow.

Baker lasted just two innings in Thursday night's 10-9, 13-inning loss to Detroit. He had a cortisone shot after leaving the game and says his elbow already is feeling a little better.

Baker had a cortisone shot in early July to combat the same problem. But he said he started feeling discomfort again in the elbow in the first inning against Detroit and had to leave after having problems locating his pitches in the second inning.

"I can deal with the discomfort," Baker said. "But when it started to affect my pitches, I wasn't able to finish them and able to get the ball down. Once that was the case, I wasn't doing my team any good and I wasn't doing myself any good."

After having to use starters Brian Duensing and Nick Blackburn in the marathon contest, the Twins had to scramble to reshuffle their rotation. They recalled Matt Fox from AAA to make his first career start on Friday night against Texas.

Carl Pavano will start Saturday and Blackburn on Sunday. Kevin Slowey will be reinstated from the disabled list in time to start Monday with Duensing getting backed up to Wednesday.

The Twins also recalled right-handers Rob Delaney and Alex Burnett from triple-A to help an overworked and banged-up bullpen. Gardenhire said Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain of Toronto were unavailable for the series opener against Texas because of overuse and setup man Brian Fuentes, whose back locked up on him on Tuesday, said he was not available, either.

The Twins did have some good news with the return of second baseman Orlando Hudson and designated hitter Jim Thome. Hudson missed the previous two games with an ankle injury and Thome has not started this week because of a stiff back.

Outfielder Jason Kubel, who has been out for three days after being hit on the left wrist by a pitch on Tuesday, had an MRI and X-ray and said neither test revealed significant damage. Kubel planned to take part in batting practice on Saturday and hoped to be ready to play on Sunday.

"I was really worried about that and our worse fear is if something is broken in there and we miss him too," Gardenhire said. "So to hear he's doing fine, he came out and told me he's taking swings and is going to take some more during the game and may be available to pinch hit tomorrow."

Minnesota entered play Friday atop the Central standings with a 77-57 record and 3 1/2-game lead over the second-place Chicago White Sox.

The Twins remain without first baseman Justin Morneau of New Westminster, B.C.

He continues to recover from a concussion suffered while sliding into second base in Toronto on July 8.

Morneau has experienced lingering symptoms from the concussion ever since, but many were encouraged when he started taking swings and joining the team in the dugout for some home games a few weeks ago.

Morneau was absent at Target Field when his Minnesota Twins returned home to open a three-game series against Detroit on Monday.

Doctors told Morneau to stay at home until at least Friday, said Gardenhire, who added the player would continue to do some cardio work and other workouts from home.

With files from CBC Sports