MINNEAPOLIS – With two weeks remaining in the season, the Twins’ lineup is limping a bit. Three regulars were unavailable for Monday night’s 8-3 loss to the Yankees, and at least one of them might be out for a while.
Trevor Larnach left the clubhouse on Monday afternoon to receive an MRI exam on his left wrist, which manager Derek Shelton said has bothered him for a few days. He was diagnosed with inflammation in the joint, and although no move was made, it does not seem that Larnach is likely to play in the current series against the Yankees at least.
“He’s dealing with some left wrist soreness,” Shelton said, “so we sent him for an MRI. He has felt it for a few days, and then he felt it sliding yesterday. And then when he came in today, tried to go through his routine and just didn’t go kind of the way he wanted it to. So we’re just going to get it looked at.”
With Larnach out, Emmanuel Rodriguez got the start in left field for the Twins. Rodriguez would likely be the primary recipient of added playing time if Larnach is out for an extended time.
Larnach, 29, has enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career this year, posting a .269/.352/.436 line while playing regularly in left field.
Rodriguez keeps producing
Emmanuel Rodriguez turned in what appeared at the time to be the biggest hit of his young career on Monday night, when he laced a two-run triple to center in the fifth inning that put the Twins ahead. He later reached base on what was initially ruled a single before being changed to an error, but either way, he’s garnering notice with the quality of his at-bats – and his all-around play.
“Overall he's playing well,” Shelton said. “Defensively, he made the nice sliding catch. His first step defensively is really quick. He made a good throw the other day. But he controls his at-bats. That's something I was asked when he came up, was what you could look at -- I think the control of his at-bats is something we saw at Triple-A, and we're continuing to see it there. The kid has got really quick hands. He can get to the ball. He's really short.”
Culpepper could return Tuesday
The news was quite a bit better on Kaelen Culpepper, who was hit by a pitch in his right shoulder Saturday. Culpepper was in good spirits in the clubhouse, and Shelton said he was available off the bench, though he didn’t enter the game. He was slated to go through a full pregame workout, and if that went well, it would seem likely he will be available to start Tuesday.
Lewis still out
In between Larnach and Culpepper is Royce Lewis, who is dealing with a sore left shoulder. Lewis was removed from Sunday’s game due to the discomfort. He likely was not available Monday, but it did not sound as though he’s expected to miss extended time.
“Conversation I had with him is, he feels significantly better,” Shelton said. “He’s still a little bit sore. The extent of what he’s going to do today, I think we’ll find out once he goes through his treatment.
“It was the diving play, and then he took a swing. … He ended up taking a good swing later and hitting the fly ball to right. I think it was a culmination of the dive and the swing.”