Bautista leaves game in 8th

5/2/2008 11:21 PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Detroit reliever Denny Bautista left Friday night's game against the Minnesota Twins in the eighth inning with a shoulder injury in a rough night for the Tigers bullpen.

Bautista came in to relieve Aquilino Lopez in the seventh after Lopez have up four runs on six hits in just a third of an inning.

He got out of the seventh unscathed, but gave up three runs on four straight hits in the eighth. He got ahead 0-2 on Mike Lamb, but then summoned team trainers to the mound. After a brief conversation, Bautista left the game and Francisco Cruceta was rushed into action.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland said Bautista had a sore right shoulder and would be evaluated on Saturday.

``He got some balls up in the zone and they whacked it,'' Leyland said.

He had allowed just two earned runs in his last 11 outings, posting a 1.80 ERA.

The Tigers bullpen entered the game with a 1.10 ERA and a .110 opponents batting average over the previous 13 games, helping them claw back to one game under .500 after starting the season 2-10. But after starter Armando Galarraga hit the showers, Lopez and Bautista gave up seven runs on 10 hits in 1 2-3 innings.