Nelson Cruz (calf) held out of lineup for Game 2 of Mariners-Twins
Jun 7, 2017, 5:19 PM | Updated: 6:12 pm
A calf issue that first appeared on May 30 will hold Nelson Cruz out of action Wednesday. (AP)
(AP)
The Mariners are maybe the hottest team in baseball right now, but they’re still not immune to the injury bug.
Though Seattle having won eight of its last nine, its bad luck with health this season has reared its head again as designated hitter Nelson Cruz is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Twins due to tightness in his calf.
“He tried to play through it last night and it was barking a little bit,” manager Scott Servais said of Cruz’s injury.
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Servais added that Cruz had an MRI Wednesday and that he doesn’t know how long he’ll be out of action, though he was optimistic it would be a few days at the most.
The American League leader in All-Star voting at DH, Cruz has an AL-best 46 RBIs to go with 14 home runs, a .299 average and .946 OPS. He has missed a handful of games in 2017 due to various ailments, and he left Seattle’s June 1 game early after being hit with a pitch on his hand, which came just two days after leaving another contest because of what Servais said was the same calf issue.
Cruz’s injury had a bit of a domino effect to the Mariners’ lineup for their 7:10 game against the Twins on 710 ESPN Seattle. Catcher Carlos Ruiz will DH, meaning if Seattle needs to replace starting catcher Mike Zunino with him in the game, it will lose the DH spot and be forced to have the pitcher spot hit. His absence also leaves the Mariners without one of their best hitters against left-handed pitching, so with southpaw Adalberto Mejia throwing for Minnesota, Tyler Smith will play shortstop, Taylor Motter will be in left field while Jarrod Dyson will be on the bench. Additionally, first baseman Danny Valencia will move into the cleanup spot usually occupied by Cruz.
Coverage of the game begins at 6 on 710 ESPN Seattle. Here are the full lineups as the Mariners look to get back to .500 and earn their fifth straight win:
Mariners (29-30)
Guillermo Heredia, CF
Tyler Smith, SS
Robinson Cano, 2B
Danny Valencia, 1B
Kyle Seager, 3B
Taylor Motter, SS
Ben Gamel, RF
Mike Zunino, C
Carlos Ruiz, DH
Yovani Gallardo, RHP
Twins (29-25)
Brian Dozier, 2B
Joe Mauer, 1B
Miguel Sano, 3B
Max Kepler, RF
Robbie Grossman, DH
Jason Castro, C
Byron Buxton, CF
Eddie Rosario, LF
Ehire Adrianza, SS
Adalberto Mejia, LHP
