Slumping Plouffe gets chance to rest vs. KC

KANSAS CITY -- Third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who went over the railing to make a catch in foul ground in Monday's 13-0 loss, was held out of the Twins' lineup on Tuesday night against the Royals.

Jamey Carroll, who threw a scoreless inning in his first career appearance as a pitcher on Monday, started at third base in Plouffe's absence.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Plouffe just needed a breather, as he's also mired in a 6-for-54 slump.

"He took that tumble right near the end of the dugout right by us and it was a pretty hard fall, but mentally he's fighting it right now," Gardenhire said. "He's frustrated. You can see it in his swing. I think he was frustrated he was on first base and got picked off. So he just needs a break."

Plouffe said he's fine physically, and was helped by a fan as he went over the railing to make the catch.

"Everything feels good -- to be honest with you, I don't even have a scratch on me," Plouffe said. "I landed on somebody and it kind of stopped me. He was just sitting there. I took a look at the replay on the computer and it looked a lot worse than it actually was."

Shortstop Pedro Florimon was also out of the lineup for a fourth straight day with inflammation in his left wrist, but could return as soon as Wednesday. He took batting practice from both sides of the plate before Tuesday's game in anticipation of his return.

"Hopefully, he'll be in there in the next day or two," assistant general manager Rob Antony said. "He's continuing to improve."