The Minnesota Twins have seen the bottom half of their batting order do considerable damage through the first two games of their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Twins will look for continued production from the back end when they face the Diamondbacks in the rubber game of their three-game set on Sunday afternoon in Phoenix.
Brooks Lee, Victor Caratini, Luke Keaschall and Ryan Kreidler combined to go 13-for-21 with nine RBIs and 11 runs in a 16-8 win against Arizona on Saturday night.
“We’re passing the baton to each other,” Kreidler said. “It’s momentum.”
Caratini homered in the Twins’ 9-5 loss in the series opener on Friday night and is hitting .415 in 13 games this month, with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
“Vic’s putting together a really, really nice month, and that’s just who he is as a player,” Kreidler said. “Brooks and Keesh and I are kind of feeding off him right now.”
The veteran on the team, Byron Buxton, also continues to contribute in big ways. He blasted his third career grand slam in a 10-run seventh inning on Saturday night to give him seven home runs this month as Minnesota improved to 5-1 in its past six games.
“I have a really good feeling when he’s stepping up to the plate,” Kreidler said. “It’s still baseball. He’s going to take his lumps, but man he’s such a special player and a great teammate.”
With the Diamondbacks down four starting pitchers because of injuries, Jose Cabrera will make his major league debut on Sunday, manager Torey Lovullo announced after Saturday night’s game.
Cabrera, 24, was promoted from Double-A Amarillo to Triple-A Reno earlier this month. The right-hander went 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA in three starts with Reno, following a 2-1 record and 3.60 ERA in nine starts at Amarillo.
Chewing up innings will be important for Cabrera after Friday’s starter, Michael Soroka, pitched just one inning before leaving with a glute strain, and Zac Gallen lasted only into the fifth inning on Saturday, giving up nine runs on 12 hits. Soroka was placed on the 15-day injured list on Saturday.
“I felt like we were kind of turning in the right direction,” Gallen said. “I put us in a hole early in the game and didn’t give us length where we needed length, so that’s the frustrating part.”
In addition to the injuries to their starting pitchers, the Diamondbacks announced Saturday that outfielder Jordan Lawlar was going on the injured list with a strained right hamstring.
“It’s going to be weeks and not days, hopeful for the fastest return possible,” Lovullo said of Lawlar and Soroka. “We’re hoping it’s going to happen before the four- to six-week period of time.
“Everybody seems to be throwing out, but I’ll keep you guys updated on their progression. Just unfortunate news. MRIs confirmed that there was something that was going on in there, and they’re going to have to step away and rest up.”
The Diamondbacks recalled Tim Tawa from Reno to fill Lawlar’s spot, and Tawa went 0-for-2 with a walk after coming in as a pinch hitter on Saturday.
“When I heard I was going up (Friday), I was excited and then … hearing it was (Lawlar), I was (mad). He was doing so well,” Tawa said. “He’s one of those guys I’ve been friends with for four or five years, and someone I root really hard for.”
For the Twins, right-hander Mike Paredes (0-0, 4.20 ERA) has the starting assignment on Sunday. He will face Arizona for the first time in his career.
–Field Level Media
