DETROIT (AP) -Joel Zumaya was so keyed up about returning to the Detroit Tigers bullpen that he could hardly sleep.
Out since May 3 because of strained middle finger on his right hand, the hard-throwing Zumaya was activated Tuesday from a rehabilitation assignment. He rejoined the Tigers as they opened a key AL Central series against Cleveland.
“I stayed up until 3:30 in the morning just thinking about it,” Zumaya said. “I’m excited, man. I’m really excited … It’s been a while.”
The 22-year-old setup man went on the disabled list after his injury and had surgery to repair the tendon on May 10.
Zumaya often throws over 100 mph. He said he worked on his breaking pitches and changeup a lot during his minor league rehab appearances.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland said that the game situation would dictate when Zumaya made his first appearance. Leyland said he would prefer to use Zumaya for only one inning in his first post-injury action.
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