Tommy Milone (33) pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals on April 16 at Target Field. (Photo: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports)

When it comes to the Minnesota Twins’ starting rotation, Tommy Milone has one view of what it should look like and the team’s management staff has another.

Milone’s assessment obviously includes his own left arm being given a starting assignment every five days. The Twins, on the other hand, have decided to go with Phil Hughes, Kyle Gibson, Ricky Nolasco, Mike Pelfrey and Trevor May.

Which is why Milone’s view of the staff now comes from about 800 miles away.

The Twins optioned Milone to the Rochester Red Wings on May 1. He’s out to prove sending him to the International League was a mistake.

The 28-year-old lefty from Santa Clarita, California, has started twice for the Wings and the opposition still hasn’t scored.

Milone dominated against the lefty-filled Toledo Mud Hens lineup on Wednesday afternoon as the Wings won 1-0 at Frontier Field.

He scattered three singles, didn’t walk a batter and struck out 12 — his Triple-A career high — in his eight innings of work and A.J. Achter fanned two more in a four-batter ninth for the save.

Thus concluded a feast-or-famine three-game series. The Wings won 5-0 behind Pat Dean’s complete game on Monday, Toledo used a Jefry Marte grand slam to win 8-0 on Tuesday and then Milone unleashed his pent-up, I’ll-show-you annoyance against the Mud Hens in the matinee finale.

“Obviously it was a little frustrating (to be sent to Triple-A), but it’s one of those things where it’s not anything I can control,” Milone said. “They wanted me to come down here and work on some things and I have to accept it.

“Me complaining or getting upset is not going to do anything but hurt me, so I have to come down here and do my job and get guys out. That’s a good start.”

Make that two. Milone pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings in Louisville last Thursday in his first start for Rochester, allowing five hits while walking two and fanning eight in a 3-0 victory.

“It’s just good to see a guy who gets sent here continue to go about his business,” Red Wings manager Mike Quade said.

Not that Quade was concerned about the frame of mind for Milone, who was 2-1 with a 4.76 ERA for the Twins this year and has a career big-league record of 32-23 with a 3.98 ERA for the Washington Nationals, Oakland A’s and the Twins since 2011.

“Sometimes a reputation precedes a guy and I was told he’d come down here with a good attitude,” Quade said.

Milone’s pinpoint command enabled him to take control the moment plate umpire Brian DeBrauwere said play ball. A quality, down-in-the-zone, first-pitch strike created more of a defensive posture for hitters and Milone exploited it.

He struck out the first five batters, had seven Ks through three innings and finished with a dozen.

“It’s not completely foreign to me,” Milone said of the strikeouts. “When I’m on, I feel like something like that can happen. Hitting corners, just being unpredictable. Throwing any pitch in any count anywhere.

“When you’re hitting corners, when you’re getting calls, your confidence is up and it’s just a lot easier to go attack hitters.”

His change-up had very good movement and batters were chasing, especially when behind in the count.

“Leave the zone,” Milone said, “and make them hit my pitch.”

The offensive support Milone needed came in the seventh. Wilkin Ramirez laced a triple to left-center and scored a batter later on a fielding error.

It’s not often one run holds up.

“If you’ve got Milone on the mound, that’s all you’ll need,” Ramirez said.

ARTICLE BY Kevin Oklobzija, Staff writer for Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York