Greetings from Target Field, where it is 80 and sunny — a perfect day for baseball.
It’s Bartolo Colon (R, 4-10, 6.70 ERA) vs. T.J. McFarland (L, 4-4, 4.14). Minnesota Twins starter Colon, 44, is going for his first-ever win against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He debuted in 1997; the D-backs joined the league in 1998.
“I’m not sure how much motivation the Diamondback thing is, the fact that he’s beaten every other team,” said Twins manager Paul Molitor.
“I think he understands that he’s just kinda the guy we’re all looking up to as far as what he’s done in the game, and a chance to kinda keep some of this momentum headed in the right direction.”
The Twins are on a three-game winning streak and can sweep the Diamondbacks, who currently occupy a Wild Card spot in the National League, with a win today.
In order to do so, they will have to get the job done with a funky looking lineup. With Joe Mauer getting a rest day and Miguel Sano out, Eddie Rosario and Byron Buxton occupy the two- and three-holes, Eduardo Escobar is DHing and batting cleanup and Mitch Garver, who struck out in his first major league at-bat last night, is making his first major league start in the five spot:
Arizona counters with Jake Lamb, Paul Goldschmidt and J.D. Martinez in the middle of their order:
Asked if he’s sending a message to Rosario, who is hitting .336/.379/.619 in the second half, and Buxton (.344/.397/.607 over the same time period), Molitor shook his head.
“It’s not a message,” he said. “Today with the people we had, a lefty on the mound, trying to give it some balance in terms of left-right and some different things, and it seemed like a good day for him to get up there closer to the top with Joe and Miggy being out.”
Sano update
Sano had an MRI at 9:00 am today and Molitor had no specifics on the injury, beyond what was already revealed yesterday, and no definitive timetable for his return.
“I don’t think he’s back yet,” said Molitor. “I haven’t seen him yet.”
Sano said he had pain in his shin two days ago, so he iced it and Molitor DH’d him yesterday in order to avoid aggravating it. But Sano pulled up limp while running to first base in his second at-bat yesterday and was replaced by Garver.
Molitor suggested that Sano shin may have originally been injured from multiple foul balls he’s hit off of it over the course of several at-bats.
“The history is he’s fouled some balls off that area in the past, and whether you develop bruising and scar tissue and those type of things over time that can maybe resurface from just being on your feet all summer long,” he said.
“I’m not really sure exactly what the source is. There’s been nothing, no specific one event. There hasn’t really been any foul balls recently. He just said the other day it was starting to act up on him.”
The Twins conclude their series with the Diamondbacks today. They travel to the South Side tomorrow, where they will face the Chicago White Sox as part of a straight doubleheader beginning at 4:10 pm.
Dillon Gee and Tim Melville are expected to start, but both spots are TBA for right now.
Be sure to follow Brandon (@Brandon_Warne) and I (@tschreier3) for updates on the situation.
