Larnach went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 6-1 win over the Astros.
Larnach drew his fourth consecutive start hitting leadoff, as he appears to have secured that role against right-handed starters for the Twins. The 27-year-old outfielder launched a 401-foot home run off Ronel Blanco in fifth inning, extending Minnesota's lead to 4-1. Overall, Larnach is slashing .268/.327/.443 in 107 plate appearances this season.
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Twins' Pablo Lopez: Returns to form in win
Rotowire
Lopez (5-5) earned the win in Friday's 6-1 victory over Houston, allowing one run on six hits and one walk over seven innings. He struck out nine.
Lopez appeared to be in the form that led him to a seventh place finish in the 2023 AL Cy Young race. The Minnesota right-hander generated an impressive 17 whiffs en route to his six punchouts while lowering his season ERA to 4.84 in 67 innings. The lone blemish on his evening was the 348-foot solo shot Alex Bregman hit into Houston's Crawford Boxes in the fourth inning. Lopez faces a difficult test in his next start -- lining up to face a formidable Yankees lineup in New York next week.
Twins' Manuel Margot: On base twice batting leadoff
Rotowire
Margot batted in the leadoff spot and went 1-for-4 with a walk in Thursday's win over Kansas City.
After a slow start to the season (.468 OPS through May 17), Margot is finally showing some signs of progress at the plate. He's 8-for-23 from May 18 through Thursday with two walks. He could get more at-bats as a righty platoon bat in left field as a result.
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Twins' Chris Paddack: Shaky vs. Royals
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Paddack did not factor into the decision Thursday against Kansas City, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out four.
Paddack got off to a rocky start, allowing a two-run homer to Vinnie Pasquantino in the first inning before allowing two more runs in the third and fourth. However, the Twins would rally back from a 4-0 hole to spare him the loss in an eventual 7-6 victory. Paddack had been sharp coming into Thursday's outing, allowing just four runs over 13 innings across his previous two starts. Overall, he's 4-2 on the season with a 4.57 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 54:12 K:BB across 61 innings. Paddack's currently in line for a tough road matchup with the Yankees in his next start.
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Twins' Jhoan Duran: Hangs on for ninth save
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Duran picked up the save Thursday against the Royals, allowing two unearned runs on a hit and a walk in the ninth inning.
Protecting a three-run lead in the ninth inning, Duran would allow a pair of runs on Bobby Witt's two-out single following a walk and a Carlos Santana error. However, Duran would coax a game-ending groundout from Vinnie Pasquantino, earning his ninth save in as many chances to open the year. While he's been a bit shaky of late, Duran's now gone five appearances (4.1 innings) without allowing an earned run. His ERA is down to 3.21 with a 1.21 WHIP despite him averaging just 8.36 K/9, down from his career mark of 11.63.
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Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Homers twice Thursday
Rotowire
Jeffers went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and three total RBI in Thursday's 7-6 win over Kansas City.
Jeffers got Minnesota on the board with a two-run blast off Daniel Lynch in the fourth inning, cutting the Royals' lead to 4-2, before adding a solo shot in the fifth. The 26-year-old Jeffers is up to 12 homers on the year, just two shy of his career high, though he'd cooled off at the plate following a red-hot start to the year -- he'd gone 13 games without a long ball, going just 5-for-42 (.119) in that span. Overall, Jeffers is slashing .254/.342/.544 through 196 plate appearances with 36 RBI, 25 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.
Larnach is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.
With Thursday's contest being a day game after a night game, manager Rocco Baldelli will give rest to several key regulars. Along with Larnach, Max Kepler, Edouard Julien and Alex Kirilloff will rest as the Twins open up room in the lineup for reserves Christian Vazquez, Manuel Margot, Kyle Farmer and Carlos Santana.
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Twins' Max Kepler: Getting breather Thursday
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Kepler is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.
With Thursday's contest being a day game after a night game, manager Rocco Baldelli will give rest to several key regulars. Along with Kepler, Edouard Julien, Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach will rest as the Twins open up room in the lineup for reserves Manuel Margot, Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana and Christian Vazquez.
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Twins' Edouard Julien: Resting in series finale
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Julien is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.
With Thursday's contest being a day game after a night game, manager Rocco Baldelli will give rest to several key regulars. Along with Julien, Alex Kirilloff, Max Kepler and Trevor Larnach will rest as the Twins open up room in the lineup for reserves Kyle Farmer, Carlos Santana, Manuel Margot and Christian Vazquez.
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Twins' Alex Kirilloff: Heads to bench Thursday
Rotowire
Kirilloff is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.
With Thursday's contest being a day game after a night game, manager Rocco Baldelli will give rest to several key regulars. Along with Kirilloff, Edouard Julien, Max Kepler and Trevor Larnach will rest as the Twins open up room in the lineup for reserves Carlos Santana, Kyle Farmer, Manuel Margot and Christian Vazquez.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Three hits in loss
Rotowire
Castro went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-1 loss to the Royals.
Castro was in a bit of a slump -- he went 0-for-12 over the previous four games before this multi-hit effort. He had a hot stretch in late April and early May, but he's otherwise been little more than league-average at the plate. The 27-year-old is slashing .258/.332/.419 with four home runs, 16 RBI, 27 runs scored, seven stolen bases, 12 doubles and three triples through 55 games this season.
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Twins' Bailey Ober: Tagged for three homers
Rotowire
Ober (5-3) took the loss Wednesday versus the Royals, allowing six runs on nine hits while striking out four and walking none over five innings.
Ober gave up hard contact -- Nelson Velazquez hit two home runs and Salvador Perez added a solo shot and an RBI double. This was the first time since his disastrous season debut that Ober allowed multiple homers, though he has yielded seven long balls over his last six starts. He's at a 4.89 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 58:12 K:BB through 57 innings over 11 starts this season. Ober's next start is projected to be on the road versus the Yankees.
Buxton is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.
Though Buxton played the entirety of Tuesday's 4-2 win and reached base four times while adding a steal, his knee collided with the left shin of the Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino in the third inning, when Buxton was running down the first-base line. The Twins haven't indicated that Buxton is dealing with anything more than minor wear and tear a day later, but he'll be given some rest Wednesday in any case. Minnesota will go with Willi Castro in center field against Kansas City starting pitcher Seth Lugo.
