30 July 2023
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sunday aside, the Twins’ offense has experienced somewhat of a post-All-Star break resurgence. But that offense will now have to do without one of its hottest hitters for the time being.
First baseman/outfielder Alex Kirilloff landed on the injured list on Sunday with a right shoulder strain, an injury he suffered diving for a ball. Kirilloff had been scratched from Wednesday’s game with shoulder soreness. In two games since, he had been 1 for 8 with five strikeouts.
“I think he went backwards a little bit,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “… He’s just not able to swing the bat right now because he’s feeling some weakness in his shoulder. Firing the bat in his hands is not — he’s just not able to do it right now.”
Baldelli said they don’t anticipate this being a “major long-term issue” for Kirilloff, but he’ll be sidelined for 10 days at minimum, during which Donovan Solano and Joey Gallo should likely both see time at first base.
As the corresponding move, the Twins activated reliever Caleb Thielbar from the injured list. Thielbar has made just one appearance in the majors since May 2. The lefty strained his oblique, came back after a month and then suffered another oblique strain days later in early June.
“It’s been a long summer,” Thielbar said. “I’ve been out for basically three months now so it’s just tough to deal with. I want to be out there competing with these guys. They’ve been having a lot of fun this summer and I haven’t really been a part of it. … It’s just not the same when you’re not actually out there helping the team.”
And the Twins could sure use the lefty, who had a 1.74 earned-run average at the time of his injury and has filled a pivotal role in their bullpen over the last few seasons.
Thielbar said he changed a few things mechanically, which he believes will take a little bit of stress off the area. The oblique, he said, has been feeling better every time he’s thrown. He returns to the Twins after making two scoreless rehab appearances with the Triple-A Saints.
“When I would feel this, it would be the next day, so it was always when I would get on the mound, it would be fine and I’d just be worried the next day like, ‘Am I going to wake up and feel this again?’ ” Thielbar said. “And I never did. Honestly, I would wake up the next day and it would feel even better.”
Buxton returns strong
Byron Buxton singled in his first at-bat since coming off the injured list on Friday. He followed that up with three doubles on Saturday. Sunday’s game featured yet another double.
Mentally, he said, he felt like he was in a better spot after his return.
“(I’m) just trying to be a little bit more consistent,” Buxton said. “Obviously I had a tough month. It’s more of a growing moment for me and mentally, it just showed me who I was as a person and who I am to still become. So for me, it was just about being consistent and putting good swings on the bat.”
Buxton was hitting just .148 in the month of July before taking three days of paternity leave. Included in that was an 0-for-26 stretch, which he broke out of with a pair of home runs on July 21.
“(It) looked like he made some adjustments and got the barrel around the zone pretty good,” Baldelli said. “I really liked what I saw.”
Briefly
After an off day on Monday, the Twins have Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray lined up to face the Cardinals this week in St. Louis. … Kyle Farmer briefly played first base on Sunday, helping turn a 3-2-3 double play. Farmer said he feels comfortable at the position, though he doesn’t have a glove of his own — he had to borrow Solano’s.
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