BALTIMORE -- Tommy Watkins waited 10 years to get his first shot in the big leagues, and leave it to an injury to curtail what had been a storybook tale.

Just when it seemed Watkins was making good on his long-awaited opportunity, hitting .357 in nine games for the Twins, he suffered a lower abdominal strain that forced him to be placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday.

The third baseman injured the muscle while running to first base in the eighth inning of Wednesday's 8-4 victory over the Mariners. He said he felt something in his lower abs during the initial run, but it was when he was coming around third base for home on an ensuing play that he knew something was wrong.

"I didn't know how I was going to get there," Watkins said.

The decision to place Watkins on the DL came more out of need than anything else. Watkins was still moving around the clubhouse slowly on Thursday afternoon, but he said the injury felt better with every hour that passed.

It's an inopportune time for the injury, because the Twins just went back to a 12-man pitching staff. With only four bench players and Rondell White coming off a cortisone shot on Tuesday, Gardenhire couldn't afford to have yet another player sidelined for an extended period of time.

"[The trainers] told me a week to 10 days, and you can't exactly wait that long when you have four guys on your bench," manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Watkins doesn't believe it will take that long for the injury to heal, but he understands that it's a necessity for the club to place him on the DL due to its current situation.

"I don't think it's too serious, probably a couple days, but with the bench being short, we didn't have any choice," Watkins said.

To replace Watkins on the roster, the Twins reinstated Brian Buscher from the 15-day disabled list. Buscher, who has been out since Aug. 7 with an infection in his right leg, was scheduled to arrive at Camden Yards sometime after the start of Thursday's game.

Buscher had been eligible to come off the disabled list on Wednesday, and the club's plan initially was to activate him at that time. But when the team decided to recall pitcher Julio DePaula from Triple-A Rochester and send down infielder Luis Rodriguez to help a worn-down bullpen, the move was postponed.

And while Watkins' injury gives Buscher a chance to return sooner than expected, Watkins was clearly disappointed.

"It hurts, because you never want to get injured, especially if you are seeing the ball and getting hits," Watkins said. "It definitely [stinks] when you have to go out."

Cause for concern? When Pat Neshek first arrived at the Major League level, the question was whether his stuff would prove effective over time or if hitters would figure out his quirky delivery.

Considering the success that Neshek has had over the past year, that question has all but disappeared. But the right-hander hasn't been quite as effective lately.

Neshek had allowed just eight runs with a .129 batting average against in 42 appearances before the All-Star break. Since then, Neshek has allowed nine earned runs in 20 appearances with a .228 batting average against.

Gardenhire feels the reason for the change in numbers has more to do with fatigue than with hitters starting to see the ball better off Neshek.

"His velocity has been down lately," the Twins skipper said. "Normally, when he's going good, he gets up to 93 mph. But he's been throwing a lot."

Rest isn't something the Twins can afford to give Neshek, at this point in the season. In the midst of a pennant race, Gardenhire admitted he's not able to give the right-hander a stretch of days to rest his arm. The club has Matt Guerrier as an option for the eighth inning, but with Juan Rincon still struggling to find his form, the options besides Neshek are limited.

"You always try to give them a break, you don't want to kill them," Gardenhire said. "But this is the time of year when a guy is going to have to pitch. He's going to have to pitch like the rest of them.

Lineup reshuffle: Shortstop Jason Bartlett was back in the starting lineup on Thursday for the first time since he strained his left hamstring on Aug. 15.

With Bartlett back, Gardenhire returned to the lineup that he had been using before the shortstop was injured. Bartlett was slotted back in the No. 2 spot behind leadoff hitter Alexi Casilla, and the rest of the order was shifted down a spot.

"I like him at the top of the lineup, and Casilla is doing fine in the leadoff role," Gardenhire said. "It just extends our lineup back out again. Torii [Hunter] is doing fine in the three hole or the four hole. He's just been swinging the bat well."

Hunter is batting .355 with eight doubles, two homers and 10 RBIs during the month of August.

Twins tidbits: Dennys Reyes said his left elbow was still sore and he would not be available to pitch in Thursday's game. Reyes feels he will be ready to pitch on Friday. He's now wearing an elbow pad on his left arm to make sure he doesn't aggravate the bone bruise and inflamed tendon he suffered when he banged into a chair in the bullpen a few days ago. ... Hunter's sore right shoulder was doing fine, as was Joe Mauer's bruised left ankle. Both were back in the starting lineup on Thursday. ... White was available to play on Thursday night, two days after getting a cortisone shot in his left knee. The knee had been sore, but White said he was already starting to feel the effects of the shot and felt ready to get back in the outfield when needed.

Down on the farm: Matt Tolbert belted a solo homer to score Rochester's only run in a 3-1 loss to Syracuse on Wednesday. Buscher went 0-for-4 in the game, but batted .291 (5-for-17) with one home run and two RBIs during his five-game rehab assignment at Rochester. ... Oswaldo Sosa gave up four runs over five innings as Double-A New Britain was shut out at New Hampshire, 12-0. Felix Molina and David Winfree tallied the only two hits for the Rock Cats. ... Daniel Valencia went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the eighth inning, in Class A Fort Myers' 11-6 loss to Dunedin. Zachary Ward gave up six earned runs over 3 2/3 innings. ... Glen Perkins pitched two-plus innings in Double-A, giving up two runs on two hits, both of them home runs. He walked four and struck out three while throwing 61 pitches.

Coming up: Twins ace Johan Santana (13-9, 2.88) will make his first start since striking out a career-high 17 batters when he faces the Orioles on Friday night. Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie (7-4, 3.44) will get the start for Baltimore with the first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT.