Never mind the Twins win over the Angels Friday night because they lost rookie Luke Keaschall to a serious injury after he was hit by a pitch that fractured his right forearm.
It’s a major blow because Kid Keaschall appeared to be all that you want in a top rookie prospect: He hit, he stole bases, he fielded his position, and for a team that has struggled most of the month, he was above all a welcome breath of fresh air. In short, he gave us Twins fans a reason not to get too depressed about the early going.
Still, the number of injuries that have piled up on this team in recent seasons is nothing short of incredible. It got so bad at one point that the Twins agreed to fire their head trainer and replaced him with someone who had won awards in his field. Now, that trainer, Nick Paparesta, finds himself in a similar situation. Are the Twins incredibly unlucky or is there something fundamentally wrong with their conditioning? It’s baffling.
Simeon Woods Richardson gets the ball Saturday.
Extra innings…
–With Keaschall out, the Twins have reportedly traded to get infielder Kody Clemens from the Phillies. Kody is Roger Clemens’ son.
–The Twins beat the Halos 11-4. The Big Boppers were Bryon Buxton and Oregon State man Trevor Larnach. Buck homered and tripled and drove in three runs, while Larnach homered and doubled and drove in four.
–They backed starter Pablo Lopez, who returned to the mound after a stint on the injured list (no surprise). Lopez wasn’t terribly efficient — 101 pitches across five innings — but he limited the damage to two runs with two walks and six whiffs. Lopez is now 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA.
–There has been more bad news: Hall of Famer Tony Oliva and Twins Hall of Famer Kent Hrbek recently suffered mini-strokes, according to recent reports, although both are expected to make full recoveries.
–The Twins are 10-16. If they sweep the Angels, they will be 12-16, which is close to the April prediction I made for this team before the season began.
–The MLB app leaves a lot to be desired. I listen to Twins games via the app, but on Friday night the audio was about two innings behind the actual game. I heard the Larnach home run, then suddenly the audio skipped to the end of the game and to a post-game interview with Larnach. Huh?