ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Trevor Larnach is back with the the Twins as they open a three-game series against baseball’s best team, the Tampa Bay Rays, at Tropicana Field tonight.
Larnach will be activated this afternoon, manager Rocco Baldelli said, although the team has not yet announced a corresponding move.
First pitch is at 5:40 Central time with Twins righthander Louie Varland (3-1, 3.51 ERA) facing Tampa Bay righthander Zach Eflin (7-1, 3.30).
The Twins (31-29) lead the American League Central by 3½ games over Cleveland, but if the Twins were in the American League East, they’d be 11 games behind Tampa Bay (43-19).
Larnach, 26, had two previous stints with the Twins this season. He is hitting .215 with five home runs and 27 RBI in 39 games. He developed pneumonia after catching the flu on the team’s West Coast road trip in May and was put on the 10-day injured list.