The Minnesota Twins head into the weekend riding high after taking
consecutive series from Cleveland and Boston but could be
shorthanded Friday night when they open a three-game set with the
Texas Rangers at Target Field.
Eduardo Escobar left in the fourth inning of Minnesota’s 9-2 loss
to the Red Sox Thursday after he took a Rick Porcello fastball to
the right elbow.
The AL leader with 32 doubles this season, Escobar has been red-hot
this month, batting .386 with an .800 slugging percentage in 70
June at-bats.
Manager Paul Molitor said Escobar would be re-evaluated Friday.
“He’s sore and swollen,” Molitor said. “I think it got the bottom
of the triceps more than on the elbow. We tried to see if he was
able to continue, and he gave it a go, but you could tell he was
having trouble swinging in that second at-bat.”
Eddie Rosario was scratched prior to the game Thursday with
soreness in his right shoulder. He leads the team with 16 homers
this season and has been having a good month as well, batting .357
with a .757 slugging percentage.
Rosario said he’d be back in the lineup against Texas and Molitor
admitted resting the 26-year-old was a precautionary move.
“I just think we’re trying to keep the big picture in mind,”
Molitor said. “So, we’re gonna back him off. It’s just one of those
things where you think what you’re doing is best for the player for
the long term.”
The Twins are already without second baseman Miguel Sano, who was
optioned to Class A Fort Meyers to work on hitting the slider, and
center fielder Byron Buxton, whose fractured toe has shown
improvement but not enough to return from a minor league rehab
assignment.
Missing all that firepower will leave right-hander Fernando Romero
a much smaller margin for error as he takes the mound for his 10th
career start.
Romero has cooled off since going 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA through his
first four big league outings, going 1-2 with a 6.46 ERA over his
last five. That number is somewhat skewed by an eight-run disaster
at Kansas City back on May 30, but Romero’s strikeout rate has
plummeted from 9.11 per nine innings to 5.95 over his last four
starts.
“Gosh, there’s still a lot to like,” Molitor said. “The way that
he’s been able to get the ball on the ground pretty consistently,
especially the way he can get in on righties.”
In his first start against Texas, Romero will face a Rangers’
lineup that is feeling good after sweeping the Royals earlier in
the week and has won five in a row overall.
Rougned Odor has been a catalyst for the Rangers’ recent success.
He was hitting .169 exactly one month ago but has batted .267 with
a .761 OPS in the 26 games since to raise his average to .226.
“I believe he’s progressively gotten better,” Rangers manager Jeff
Banister said. “He’s showed progress where we need him to show
progress. Odor has been a significant player on this team and will
continue to be a significant player.”
Left-hander Mike Minor gets the start for Texas.
He held the Rockies to two runs over seven innings in his last
outing, giving him a second consecutive quality start for the first
time since earning six in a row for the Braves back during the 2014
season.
Friday will mark Minor’s first career start against the Twins.