CLEVELAND — The Twins took an unusual round of batting practice on Friday: Just the injured guys.
Miguel Sano and Max Kepler return to lineup for opener in Cleveland
Extra-long batting practice on Friday in Cleveland allowed injured players to prove that they're well enough to play. The verdict: Miguel Sano and Max Kepler are well enough to play. Jake Cave and Marwin Gonzalez need more time.
September 13, 2019 at 10:36PM
OK, Willians Astudillo took part, too. But with manager Rocco Baldelli and head athletic trainer Tony Leo watching with unusual interest, Marwin Gonzalez, Jake Cave, Miguel Sano and Max Kepler took an extended session of batting practice, about double the normal length, just to allow Baldelli and Leo a chance to assess their health.
The apparent verdict: Sano and Kepler are well enough to play. Cave and Gonzalez need more time. And Astudillo has his swing back after being forced to accept a walk on Thursday for the first time since late May.
Baldelli waited to write out a lineup until he saw for himself how healthy his hobbled team is, and the result is a lineup that looks reasonably like one he would use if everyone is healthy. C.J. Cron, still feeling the effects of a sore right thumb, is sitting out, but Astudillo is the only player in the lineup who hasn't started at least 66 games this year.
The other two aren't far from being ready to play. Cave ran at top speed for the first time today, and said he'll try running the bases on Saturday as he recovers from a groin injury. Gonzalez has said he could play right now if necessary, but that his oblique injury is not 100 percent yet. The Twins want to wait, just to make certain the chances of him re-injuring his oblique are as minimal as possible.
Ehire Adrianza, on the other hand, won't be back "for some time," Baldelli said, which almost certainly means he'll miss the rest of the regular season with an oblique injury suffered on Thursday.
The Twins and Indians will play at 7:10 (6:10 p.m. Central) as scheduled, which weather forecasters said was doubtful this morning. Rain is expected to hit sometime tonight, but they should have a couple of hours of dry weather, at least. The Twins may be a little tired tonight, having arrived at their hotel at 4:30 a.m. this morning.
Here are the lineups for Game 1 of a three-game showdown between the AL Central's top two teams:
TWINS
Kepler CF
Polanco SS
Cruz DH
Rosario RF
Garver C
Arraez LF
Sano 3B
Astudillo 1B
Schoop 2B
Odorizzi RHP
INDIANS
Lindor SS
Mercado CF
Santana 1B
Puig RF
Kipnis 2B
Reyes DH
Bauers LF
Perez C
Freeman 3B
Civale RHP
