MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Scott Diamond grew up in Canada, seemingly destined to become a pitcher.

He says he was a bad skater, so hockey was merely a hobby. Baseball was his primary sport, but he only found the mound because, he says, he couldn’t play any of the other positions very well.

The Minnesota Twins are happy he found his niche. The rookie left-hander has stabilized a ragged rotation since he was recalled from Triple-A Rochester a little more than a month ago.

The 25-year-old Diamond is 5-1 with a 1.61 ERA over his first seven starts, including a streak of 13 straight scoreless innings he’ll take into his next appearance on Thursday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.

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