Wallner is absent from the lineup Wednesday for Game 4 of the ALDS versus the Astros.
Wallner drew two walks in Game 3 but has yet to record a hit through 12 plate appearances this postseason. Willi Castro will cover left field and bat seventh Wednesday as the Twins look to avoid elimination. Michael Taylor is in center and batting ninth.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Out of Game 2 lineup
Rotowire
Wallner is not in the lineup for Game 2 of the ALDS at Houston on Sunday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
Wallner is 0-for-6 with a walk and a run through the first three games of the playoffs, and he'll take a seat Sunday with lefty Framber Valdez pitching for the Astros.
Wallner is not in the lineup Friday against the Rockies.
Jordan Luplow will start in left field and bat third versus the Rockies and left-hander Ty Blach. Wallner has struggled to a .481 OPS in 46 plate appearances against southpaws this season.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Swats grand slam
Rotowire
Wallner went 1-for-3 with a grand slam and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 11-3 win over the Athletics.
Wallner spearheaded the Twins' five-run first inning, launching a grand slam after Max Kepler, Alex Kirilloff and Kyle Farmer were walked in back-to-back-to-back at-bats. Though the long ball was his only hit on the day, Wallner came around to score in the seventh inning after being intentionally walked. Over his last 13 contests, Wallner is 14-for-36 (.389) with two homers, 10 RBI and eight runs scored.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Rare day off amid heater
Rotowire
Wallner is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Reds.
This breaks a string of eight straight starts for Wallner. He hit .423 with one home run, four runs and five RBI in 26 at-bats over that stretch. Andrew Stevenson is picking up a rare start in left field.
Wallner is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.
Though the Twins are facing off against a right-hander (Tyler Glasnow) in the series opener, the lefty-hitting Wallner will retreat to the bench, ending a stretch of 15 consecutive starts for the rookie. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli may just want to give Wallner a day off to hit the reset button after going hitless with eight strikeouts against four walks over his last five starts.
Wallner went 3-for-6 with a homer, three RBI and two runs scored in Monday's 20-6 win over the Guardians.
Wallner knocked an RBI single in the seventh inning before capping off the Twins' 20-run outburst with a two-run shot in the ninth. He drove in three runs against the Rangers on Aug. 25 but had gone 3-for-24 (.125) with just one RBI in eight games since then. After Monday's big performance, Wallner is slashing .235/.354/.503 with 18 extra-base hits and 29 RBI through 181 plate appearances.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Drives in three runs
Rotowire
Wallner went 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, three RBI and three runs scored in Friday's win over Texas. He was also hit by a pitch.
Wallner knocked a three-run triple in the first inning and later scored two more runs. He had been stuck in a 3-for-15 skid with eight strikeouts and no RBI since belting a grand slam Aug. 15 before snapping out of the funk Friday. Wallner is now slashing .244/.350/.528 with 16 extra-base hits and 25 RBI through 143 plate appearances.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Sitting versus lefty
Rotowire
Wallner isn't in the Twins' lineup Thursday against the Rangers, John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
The lefty-hitting Wallner will sit out Thursday while southpaw Andrew Heaney starts on the mound for Texas. Jordan Luplow, Michael Taylor and Max Kepler will start in the outfield from left to right while Wallner rests.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Heads to bench against righty
Rotowire
Wallner is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Brewers.
Though the lefty-hitting Wallner started in both of the past two games when the Twins opposed left-handed pitchers, he'll curiously bow out of the lineup Wednesday versus Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes. Jordan Luplow will instead draw the start in left field in place of Wallner, who has struck out at a 36.1 percent clip and is batting .200 in August but has provided value with four home runs, one stolen base, 13 RBI and 10 runs.
Wallner (hand) is starting in right field and batting eighth Sunday against the Pirates.
Wallner sat out Saturday with a bruised hand after being hit by a pitch Friday, but he'll rejoin the starting nine for Sunday's series finale. The 25-year-old has an .811 OPS through 16 games this month but is hitting just .220 with a 34.5 percent strikeout rate.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Needs at least one more day
Rotowire
Wallner (hand) will sit Saturday against the Pirates.
Wallner was initially included in the Twins' lineup, but the team elected to give him one more day after he left Friday's series opener after getting hit in the hand. X-rays came back negative, but he'll rest his bruised digits Saturday while Joey Gallo handles left field.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Nursing hand contusion
Rotowire
Wallner has been diagnosed with a right hand contusion after exiting Friday's game versus the Pirates following a hit by pitch, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Wallner was struck on the hand after a swing at a pitch in the seventh inning. It is not clear at this point whether he has had an X-ray yet or whether he will get one. Wallner went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored before departing.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Exits with hand injury
Rotowire
Wallner left Friday's game against Pittsburgh in the seventh inning after getting hit in the right hand by a pitch, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.
Wallner was in obvious pain after getting plunked and got replaced by Joey Gallo in left field. Wallner will undergo testing after the game to determine the severity of the injury, but for now he should be considered day-to-day.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: X-rays come back negative
Rotowire
X-rays on Wallner's right hand came back negative, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Wallner departed Friday's game against the Pirates after a pitch he swung at struck him in the hand. He's managed to avoid a serious injury, though, and is considered day-to-day. "We got lucky," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, "and we'll take that."
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Blasts grand slam in win
Rotowire
Wallner went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Tuesday's 5-3 victory over Detroit.
The 25-year-old outfielder delivered the decisive blow Tuesday by launching a center-cut fastball from Will Vest over the right-center field fence for a 450-foot grand slam. Wallner's long ball capped off a five-run rally in the sixth inning and gave Minnesota a 5-2 lead. The rookie has displayed an impressive power surge since being recalled from Triple-A on July 17, tallying eight home runs in just 85 at-bats. However, the same 27-game stretch has shown some flaws in Wallner's plate discipline, as he has a 33.3 percent strikeout rate and a 7.3 percent walk rate.
