{"id":886393,"date":"2026-06-23T04:29:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/886393\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T04:29:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:29:18","slug":"dodgers-defeat-twins-but-lose-kyle-tucker-and-catcher-dalton-rushing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/886393\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers defeat Twins, but lose Kyle Tucker and catcher Dalton Rushing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MINNEAPOLIS\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The Dodgers<\/a> are in a holding pattern after two key players left their 2-1 win<\/a> Monday against the Minnesota Twins with injuries.<\/p>\n

Right fielder Kyle Tucker<\/a>\u2019s availability Tuesday is in question, after he exited during the top of the second inning with back spasms. Manager Dave Roberts described Tucker\u2019s status as \u201cday to day,\u201d adding that he was \u201cnot overly concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catcher Dalton Rushing<\/a> probably won\u2019t be in the lineup Tuesday, Roberts said, even though he passed an initial round of concussion testing. He\u2019ll have to undergo a second round on Tuesday, and the Dodgers don\u2019t see a need to rush him back. They plan to call in a taxi-squad catcher as a safeguard as Rushing continues through the protocol.<\/p>\n

The game had its bright spots, including home runs from Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, and left-hander Eric Lauer\u2019s six no-hit innings after an opener. But if either Tucker\u2019s or Rushing\u2019s recovery stalls, the loss would hamper a team already weathering a rash of injuries.<\/p>\n

Tucker<\/p>\n

Tucker\u2019s lower back \u201clit up\u201d when he took the field in the bottom of the second inning, he said. He played through it, hoping it would subside.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t really know how that first at-bat was going to go,\u201d Tucker said, noting that rotation aggravated the injury. \u201cBecause I was just basically seeing how I felt on deck, and finishing the swing kind of hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

He swung at the first pitch and then watched the next four for a walk \u2014 and Roberts saw Tucker wince. Then Tucker advanced to second on Tommy Edman\u2019s single, and was replaced by pinch-runner Alex Call soon after.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce he got to second base, it was just more of just not seeing him move the right way, and didn\u2019t want to put him in any more jeopardy,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cAnd so I felt it was just smart to just pivot right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tucker said he\u2019s had his back \u201clock up\u201d once before, a couple of years ago. He played the next day. The spasm Monday felt less severe, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean he\u2019ll be back in the lineup Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully I can \u2026 wake up tomorrow, feel fine and get in there,\u201d Tucker said. \u201cWe\u2019re just TBD on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tucker, in his first season with the Dodgers after signing a four-year deal worth $240 million this winter, entered Monday with a .705 on base plus slugging, on pace for his worst offensive year by that measure since his 2018 rookie season with the Houston Astros. But he still lengthens the Dodgers lineup with the threat of a breakout.<\/p>\n

Tucker recently went nine games with a .303 batting average. But then he went hitless in the Dodgers\u2019 two losses to the Baltimore Orioles last weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can get him back to being who he is, then we\u2019ll bet on the results,\u201d Roberts said before the game Monday, noting Tucker\u2019s reputation for controlling the strike zone. \u201cIt\u2019s not something that we might see tonight. But I think going here forward, that\u2019s something that I think we\u2019re going to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rushing<\/p>\n

Dodgers opener Will Klein\u2019s first pitch tipped off Twins leadoff hitter Trevor Larnach\u2019s bat and hit Rushing in the mask.<\/p>\n

Rushing took a moment to compose himself, putting his glove in the dirt for stability. But he remained in the game until Chuckie Robinson replaced him behind the plate in the bottom of the third.<\/p>\n

\u201cGot me square on the top of the head,\u201d Rushing said. \u201cRung me pretty good. My head was just pounding the next couple innings, and even through that first at-bat. I know it was a one-pitch at-bat but, as bad as it sounds, I was looking for a strike to hit. It wasn\u2019t comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019re good now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rushing, like many catchers, has sustained concussions before, most recently in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one was not near as severe as \u201823,\u201d Rushing said. \u201cIn \u201923 I got hit with a backswing with a bat in the back of the head. I tried to stand up the next pitch and fell down. I would say that one was pretty bad.<\/p>\n

\"Shohei <\/p>\n

Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman celebrate Monday\u2019s win over the Twins.<\/p>\n

(Stephen Maturen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this one, it was just a headache \u2026 and a little bit of nauseous feeling. Other than that, it was a pretty short stint.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dodgers were already down one catcher going into Monday. Rushing took over as the primary backstop the last two weeks with Will Smith sidelined by a neck injury. Smith did not travel with the team to Minnesota, but the team hopes he could be activated during the next home stand.<\/p>\n

Lauer follows opener<\/p>\n

Dodgers left-hander Eric Lauer<\/a> voiced his distaste for pitching behind an opener while with the Blue Jays. But he clarified those comments when he joined the Dodgers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask most starters in the league, they would probably have the same response, that they don\u2019t like it,\u201d Lauer said last month. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t mean that I\u2019m not willing to do it. It doesn\u2019t mean that I\u2019m not a team player.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Eric <\/p>\n

Eric Lauer pitched six hitless innings against the Twins on Monday.<\/p>\n

(Matt Krohn \/ AP)<\/p>\n

On Monday, the Dodgers asked him to enter the game in the second inning, after Klein gave up a run and two hits in the first. Lauer followed with six hitless innings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been very forthright,\u201d Roberts said before the game. \u201cI know he\u2019s appreciated that. For me, just telling him the thought behind it and the why and still giving him confidence to know that we expect him to take down the most outs in the game. He\u2019s all-in. He\u2019s all-in on winning. I do think that just getting ahead of it, being honest with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts said he told Lauer the plan after Sunday\u2019s game, explaining that he thought having Klein face the power-hitting right-handers near the top of the Twins lineup would give Lauer the best chance to go deeper into the game.<\/p>\n

Lauer just had to push back his pregame routine by an inning \u2014 and the Dodgers would not deviate from that script.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy issue is more with, when plans change,\u201d Lauer said after the game. \u201cIt makes it a little harder. In general, [an opener] makes it a little harder to prepare, but it makes it way harder when the plan changes in-game. So being able to have that, that solidity and know what the idea is, what the plan is, and what\u2019s going to be executed just allows me to prepare to be my best when I get out there. That\u2019s all I really want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Klein surrendering a tying home run to right-handed hitting Byron Buxton wasn\u2019t exactly part of that plan. But Lauer blanked the Twins before the bullpen finished it. The three walks he issued accounted for the only baserunners against him.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers (50-29<\/a>) scored on solo homers from Shohei Ohtani in the first and Freddie Freeman in the sixth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The Dodgers are in a holding pattern after two key players left their 2-1 win Monday against the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":886394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[7951,172520,359632,1582,276,359630,359633,2442,1910,5605,2961,224,5337,7136,9548,230743,359631,38430,88045,3007],"class_list":["post-886393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-astros","tag-back-spasm","tag-bad-offensive-year","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-catcher-dalton-rushing","tag-debut-season","tag-dodgers","tag-game","tag-kyle-tucker","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-mask","tag-monday","tag-op","tag-opener-will-klein","tag-pace","tag-second-inning","tag-team"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116797542624178946","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=886393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/886394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=886393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=886393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=886393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}