Twins' Matt Wallner: Sent to IL with oblique strain
Rotowire
The Twins placed Wallner on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left oblique strain, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Wallner suffered the injury during a pinch-hitting appearance in Tuesday's loss to the Marlins, and it will cost him the remainder of the regular season. He would be eligible to return during the ALDS if replacing an injured player, although neither the Twins making it that far nor Wallner being healthy by then is guaranteed. Austin Martin has rejoined the active roster in Wallner's place.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Battling oblique tightness
Rotowire
Wallner was removed from Tuesday's game against the Marlins due to left oblique tightness, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
Wallner was grabbing at his left side after striking out during his pinch-hit appearance in the sixth inning. The Twins have now confirmed the issue to be in the 26-year-old's oblique, though the team will have to wait until Wednesday to determine the severity of his injury. If he needs to sit down for a game or two, Jose Miranda may be in line for more work as Minnesota's DH.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Exits grabbing left side
Rotowire
Wallner left Tuesday's game against Miami with an apparent injury to his left side after striking out as a pinch hitter, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
Wallner struck out and grimaced and grabbed his left side as he walked back to the dugout. Trevor Larnach then replaced him in right field.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Out against left-hander
Rotowire
Wallner is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's game versus the Marlins.
Lefty Ryan Weathers will toe the rubber for the Marlins, so the left-handed-hitting Wallner will begin the contest on the bench. Jose Miranda will be the Twins' designated hitter and Manuel Margot will play right field.
Wallner is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Guardians.
Wallner will hit the bench along with fellow left-handed hitters Trevor Larnach and Edouard Julien while the Guardians send southpaw Matthew Boyd to the hill. Willi Castro and Manuel Margot will serve as the Twins' starters in left and right field, respectively, while Ryan Jeffers gets a day off from catching and serves as Minnesota's designated hitter.
Wallner went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and three RBI in Tuesday's 10-5 win versus the Angels.
The 26-year-old slugger stretched the Minnesota lead to 5-0 in the third inning with a titanic 444-foot solo shot off Griffin Canning. Wallner later cracked a two-RBI double in the eighth inning to score the final Twins runs of the game. Since returning to the big leagues July 7, he has played in 50 games while hitting .290 (45-for-155) with 11 homers, 15 doubles, 29 RBI and 23 runs scored and going 3-for-3 in stolen bases.
Wallner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Rays.
Wallner took Taj Bradley deep in the third inning in what ended up being the winning run. Wallner has been a revelation for the Twins over the second half of the season and has become a mainstay in the middle of their lineup. Since being called up in early July, he's played in 45 of their last 51 games and is hitting .295 with a 1.017 OPS and 10 home runs over that span.
