Trevor

Larnach

The 28-year-old slugger will get a breather with left-hander Ranger Suarez toeing the slab for the Phillies on Saturday night. Carson McCusker will start in his place in right field and will bat seventh for the Twins on Saturday evening in Philadelphia.

Larnach worked a walk in the opening inning and scored the Twins’ first run on an RBI single by Royce Lewis. He also drew a walk in the fifth inning and swiped second base. Larnach then smacked a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning that pulled the Twins to within two runs at 10-8. He then tagged David Bednar for a 426-foot (110.5 mph EV) solo shot in the ninth that made it a 10-9 ballgame. Unfortunately for the Twins, that’s as close as they would get. For the season, the 28-year-old slugger is now slashing .254/.328/.411 with 17 homers, 60 RBI and four stolen bases on the season.

Wallner appears to be just getting a day off against José Soriano and the Los Angeles bullpen. He’ll take a break with Trevor Larnach lined up in right field.

Larnach smacked an RBI single off of Davis Martin in the home half of the first inning, giving the Twins an early 1-0 lead. He also added a two-out double in the seventh inning, but the Twins were unable to cash him in. For the season, the 28-year-old slugger is now hitting .254/.327/.414 with 16 homers, 55 RBI and two stolen bases in 491 plate appearances.

That wouldn’t seem to make muse sense. However, while the Twins are facing a left-handed opener in Fraser Ellard today, they’ve mostly set the lineup as if they were facing a righty. The one caveat there is that Kody Clemens is on the bench. Also, Larnach is batting fifth, rather than his usual second.

Larnach returns to Minnesota’ new-look lineup following a three-game absence due to left side soreness. The 28-year-old corner outfielder, who has matched a career-high with 15 homers through 105 games, is back in right field and batting sixth in this one.

Larnach remains on the bench for the third consecutive contest since being scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with left side soreness. It’ll be rookie Alan Roden and Carson McCusker filling in at left field and DH, respectively, on Saturday night in his place.

Larnach was scratched from the Twins’ lineup on Wednesday due to soreness in his side and it doesn’t sound like he improved much over Thursday’s off-day. There haven’t been any rumblings yet about him requiring a stint on the injured list, but if this lingers through the weekend the Twins’ hand may be forced on this one. Mickey Gasper will function as the team’s designated hitter on Friday and will bat ninth against Seth Lugo and the Royals.

Kody Clemens moves to left field, and Edouard Julien will start at first base. We’ll provide an update when we know more about how severe the injury is for Larnach.

Larnach victimized former teammate Chris Paddack for a 409-foot (109.4 mph EV) solo shot in the fourth inning that extended the Twins’ advantage to 4-1. The 28-year-old slugger also singled in the contest, finishing the night 2-for-3. On the season, he’s now slashing .247/.320/.415 with 15 long balls and 48 RBI.