Indians activate closer Borowski

5/23/2008 5:14 PM

CLEVELAND (AP) -Joe Borowski is back in the bullpen for the Indians, who activated the right-hander Friday prior to playing the Texas Rangers in the opener of a six-game homestand.

Left-hander Craig Breslow was designated for assignment to make roster room for Borowski, whose 45 saves led the AL a year ago.

Borowski had been sidelined since April 15 with a strained right triceps that had caused him to lose velocity on his pitches. In five appearances, he went 0-2 with an 18.00 ERA, allowing eight runs and seven hits in only four innings. He was 2-for-4 in save chances.

Manager Eric Wedge, who used a variety of relievers in the closer's role while Borowski was out, is happy to have the 36-year-old veteran back. Cleveland is only 8-for-15 in save opportunities overall.

``Joe will close tonight and we'll let everything else fall into place,'' Wedge said.

Rafael Betancourt and Rafael Perez will return to their roles as primary setup men with Jensen Lewis and Masahide Kobayashi being used as needed. All four blew at least one save while Borowski was out.

``Masa's been doing a good job,'' Wedge said of Kobayashi, who turns 34 Saturday. The right-hander is in his first big league season after accumulating 227 saves in Japan.

Borowski made two rehab appearances this week in the minors, working one scoreless inning apiece at Class A Lake County and Double-A Akron.

``His fastball is a little better and his command is a lot better,'' Wedge said.

Breslow, claimed off outright waivers from the Boston Red Sox on March 23, appeared in seven games in relief for Cleveland, going 0-0 with a 3.24 ERA in 8 1-3 innings.