MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -Minnesota Twins designated hitter Jason Kubel was scratched from the lineup before Friday night’s interleague game against the Milwaukee Brewers because of swelling in his left knee.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Kubel, who was originally slated to bat fourth against the Brewers, twisted his knee while playing left field during the Twins’ 20-1 victory at the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Kubel injured himself while trying to avoid center fielder Denard Span as they both tried to catch a ball in the gap, Gardenhire said.
“He kind of jammed his knee when he was trying to get around him,” Gardenhire said. “He kind of tweaked it a little bit.”
Later in the game, Kubel fouled a ball off of the same knee.
Kubel, who is hitting .336 with five home runs this season, tried to take early batting practice and run on Friday, but he was unable to move well enough to play.
t Gardenhire didn’t expect the injury to be serious.
The injury comes at a time when the team was already playing short-handed. Outfielder Delmon Young has been away from the team for more than a week to be with his mother before she died on Monday night.
With Young and Kubel unavailable, Gardenhire batted Carlos Gomez, Matt Tolbert and Nick Punto in the bottom three spots in the lineup. Those three players are batting a combined .211 in May.
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