MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins committed two costly errors in their 7-6 loss to the A's on Sunday, and tougher yet, they emerged from the game with three more players banged up in Max Kepler, Willians Astudillo and Kenta Maeda.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after the game that Kepler tweaked a hamstring while running the bases, leading to his exit after he doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Andrelton Simmons' game-tying homer in the eighth inning.
"He tested it out -- he was downstairs running, but there was concern that if he had to open it up and really cut it loose, that he would not be able to do that," Baldelli said.
Astudillo was pulled with a left hand contusion sustained when he was hit by a 93.5 mph sinker from Oakland starter Chris Bassitt in the second inning. He was said to be initially experiencing some swelling and bruising.
Though Astudillo caught another inning and took one more at-bat, the Twins removed him from the game following his third-inning flyout with two men aboard when they noticed he was having trouble holding on to the bat on certain swings due to the pain in his left hand.
"We weren't going to, at that point, force the issue if he was incapable of doing that," Baldelli said.
Maeda was dealing with minor groin tightness during the game but insisted to Baldelli that he had pitched through the issue earlier in his career and could stay on the mound.
He still made close to a full start, throwing 89 pitches over four-plus innings, but allowed a double and three straight singles to open the fifth inning before he was pulled. He was ultimately charged with five runs, of which three were earned. The right-hander received treatment following the game.
Though the Twins won't have more information about Kepler's hamstring until Monday, his condition could have the most significant implications for the roster considering the Twins' already-fraught outfield depth due to injuries to Alex Kirilloff, Byron Buxton and Jake Cave.
Kepler is the only true center fielder on the Twins' 26-man roster, and Baldelli had to insert Rob Refsnyder in center field following Kepler's exit, marking Refsnyder's first career MLB appearance and 15th professional game at the position. Kyle Garlick has also been mentioned as a center-field possibility in a pinch, but he's also been playing through a groin issue.
The Twins expected Kepler to play a majority of the time in center field, with Refsnyder and Garlick likely only factoring in as backups at the position.
If Kepler were to miss time, the Twins could have to add Keon Broxton from the Triple-A Saints -- but that would require a move to free up a spot on the already crowded 40-man roster.
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Astudillo, Kepler, Maeda injured in loss to A's - MLB.com
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