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Laffey to make major league debut vs. Twins

Aug 4, 2007 - 1:04 PM Cleveland (62-47) at Minnesota (55-53) 3:55 pm EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - A night after two of the American League's top veteran starters faced off, a pair of youngsters will be on the hill when the Minnesota Twins host the Cleveland Indians on Saturday.

On Friday, Grady Sizemore homered and drove in four runs as C.C. Sabathia outdueled Johan Santana to give the Indians a 5-2 victory in the series opener.

Aaron Laffey will make his major league debut for Cleveland on Saturday. The 23-year-old is 7-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 14 games - 13 starts - for Class AAA Buffalo of the International League. He has 19 walks and 62 strikeouts in 82 1/3 innings, winning six consecutive starts from June 7-July 6.

A 16th-round draft pick in 2003, Laffey started the season at Class AA Akron, going 4-1 with a 2.31 ERA in six starts. He was a combined 12-4 at two Class A stops last season.

The Twins will counter with Matt Garza (1-2, 1.37). The 23-year-old righthander has allowed just four earned runs in 26 1/3 innings since being recalled from the minors on July 2.

The contest will once again be an emotional one for Minnesota, which had its Thursday game against Kansas City postponed because of the tragic Interstate 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis on Wednesday night. The bridge stood mere blocks from the Metrodome and cut off the city's major North/South thoroughfare while killing at least five people and injuring nearly 100 with many still missing.