KANSAS CITY -- C.C. Sabathia didn't pick up the win Sunday during his first start of the season, but he couldn't be any happier to be back with the Indians.

The 6-foot-7 left-hander just smiled and laughed Monday afternoon when discussing his solid first start, during which he yielded one run and five hits to the Twins over 5 2/3 innings of work.

"It felt good just to be out there, be with the guys," Sabathia said. "And it's always good to pitch good against [the Twins]. They're where we've wanted to be the last three years. And that's the place we want to get back to."

Sabathia threw 94 pitches, 60 for strikes, and didn't lose velocity or effectiveness at any point during his time on the mound, according to manager Eric Wedge and catcher Victor Martinez.

"Victor said C.C. was still strong during the sixth inning yesterday," Wedge said. "Obviously, we were trying to keep him at 90 or 94 pitches, but it's good to know that he was still strong at the end."

Sabathia and Wedge both said the left-hander's pitch counts would increase to between 100 and 105 during his next start, which will likely come Friday at Seattle. Sabathia will remain at that pitch count, which Wedge deemed a median for Major League starting pitchers.

Here's the question: What is the team record for the most grand slams in a season? (See answer below.)

Pronk OK after the plunk: The swelling in designated hitter Travis Hafner's right elbow has gone down enough for Hafner to play Monday night against the Royals.

Hafner, who was hit by Twins' reliever J.C. Romero during the eighth inning of the Indians' 2-1 win over the Twins on Sunday, took regular batting practice Monday night.

"He's holding up," Wedge said. "He's a little sore, but the swelling's gone. They worked on it all last night on the plane and all day today when we got here, so he's OK."

Hafner was slated to bat fourth in the Indians' lineup Monday against the Twins.

Betancourt and the bullpen: Right-hander Rafael Betancourt completed a no-hitter of sorts Sunday when he pitched 1 1/3 innings of hitless and scoreless relief Sunday. He has now pitched nine innings of relief without allowing a hit.

Betancourt's season totals are rather impressive. He has retired 27 of the batters he has faced this season, walked just one and struck out six.

"He was good last year for us, too," Wedge said. "He had a great deal of success for us early on, but by necessity, we had to use him a lot and he wore down a little bit."

Betancourt isn't the only Cleveland reliever to turn heads. The Tribe's bullpen leads the American League in relief ERA at 1.86, and relief batting average against, at .167.

At this point last year, the bullpen had amassed a 7.36 ERA and four blown saves.

Quotable: "In terms of September, we're going to take the guys we need. We're just not going to take guys to take guys." -- Wedge, on his late-season callup philosophy from last season

Did you know: In spite of five early one-run losses, the Tribe is still better after 12 games this season than in 2004. At this point last season, the Tribe was 4-8.

The numbers game: Cleveland played its first two errorless games of the season Saturday and Sunday against the Twins, snapping a 10-game string of games played with at least one error. The Tribe leads the Major Leagues with 13 errors.

Tribe tidbits: Indians fans can buy tickets for home games at The Jake through the Internet at www.clevelandindians.com, at the Jacobs Field box office, at the seven Cleveland Indians Team Shops in Northeast Ohio and through the Tickets.com phone center (1-866-48-TRIBE). ... The Indians need just two more wins to equal their April wins total for 2003 and four more to equal April 2004. The Tribe went 7-20 in April 2003 and 9-13 last April. ... The Tribe bullpen has a 0.99 ERA over the last 10 games, allowing just four earned runs in 36 1/3 innings pitched. ... Indians' starters have won just one game thus far. Relievers have the other four wins.

On this date: In 1950, the Tribe opened its season at home with a 7-6 loss to the Tigers. Bob Lemon was the starting pitcher.

And here's the answer: In 1999, a team that featured Manny Ramirez, David Justice, Jim Thome and Travis Fryman finished the season with 12 grand slams.

On deck: The Tribe will wrap up its two-game series against the Royals on Tuesday afternoon. Scott Elarton will get the start, and he'll face right-hander Denny Bautista in a game that starts at 2:10 p.m. ET.