Wallner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Rays.
Wallner took Taj Bradley deep in the third inning in what ended up being the winning run. Wallner has been a revelation for the Twins over the second half of the season and has become a mainstay in the middle of their lineup. Since being called up in early July, he's played in 45 of their last 51 games and is hitting .295 with a 1.017 OPS and 10 home runs over that span.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Not starting against lefty
Rotowire
Wallner isn't in the Twins' lineup for Tuesday's game versus San Diego.
Wallner and his career .476 OPS against lefties will take a seat Tuesday as the Padres send southpaw Martin Perez to the mound. His absence will move Royce Lewis into the DH spot while Jose Miranda starts at third base.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Sitting versus southpaw
Rotowire
Wallner isn't in the Twins' lineup for Thursday's game versus Texas.
Left-hander Cody Bradford will throw the first pitch for the Rangers in Thursday's series opener, so the left-handed bat of Wallner will step out of the lineup. In his absence, Jose Miranda will serve as the Twins' designated hitter and bat fourth.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Sitting out first game
Rotowire
Wallner is absent from the lineup for the first game of Friday's doubleheader against the Guardians.
Lefty Joey Cantillo will start for the Guardians, so the lefty-hitting Wallner will begin this one on the bench. Wallner should be in the lineup for the nightcap versus right-hander Alex Cobb.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Regains foothold in lineup vs. RHPs
Rotowire
Wallner will serve as the Twins' designated hitter and cleanup batter in Wednesday's game against the Cubs.
Wallner has now started in nine consecutive matchups with right-handed pitching and may have supplanted Jose Miranda as the Twins' preferred option at DH. The Twins will have room for both players in the lineup Wednesday, however, as Royce Lewis will get the day off to open up third base for Miranda. Wallner comes into Wednesday's contest having produced a 1.431 OPS over his last 10 games.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Taking seat Monday
Rotowire
Wallner is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.
The lefty-hitting Wallner will hit the bench for the second time in three days while the Mets send a southpaw (Jose Quintana) to the hill. Wallner has been running hot at the plate lately, as he's recorded at least one hit -- including four extra-base knocks -- in each of his last five games while also drawing three walks.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Second straight game with homer
Rotowire
Wallner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, two runs scored and two walks in Friday's 9-3 win over the Tigers.
Wallner took Keider Montero deep in the second inning for one of four Twins homers on the night. Wallner has now homered in back-to-back games for the third time in his career and second time this month. After struggling early and being sent down in April, he was called back up in July and has four of his five homers on the year over his last 12 games. The 26-year-old is hitting .353 since his call-up in early July.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Swats second homer
Rotowire
Wallner went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double in an 8-6 extra-innings win against the White Sox on Monday.
Wallner was called up from Triple-A on Sunday and started in left field one day later. He belted a big homer in the seventh inning, clubbing a two-run shot to right field to tie the game 5-5. Wallner demonstrated his power potential last year with 14 home runs in 254 plate appearances with the Twins, and he has two long balls through 39 plate appearances this year but is slashing just .167/.333/.433.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Struggles continue at Triple-A
Rotowire
Wallner is hitting just .180/.265/.344 with five home runs in 33 games since being demoted to Triple-A St. Paul.
Wallner began the season as Minnesota's starting right fielder, but was sent to the minors after hitting just 2-for-33 through 13 games. He had also struggled in spring training (5-for-38) and looked lost at the plate. Unfortunately except for one small hot streak in early May, he hasn't broken out of his funk. While he could still turn his season around and an injury or two in the majors could see him quickly get called up, it certainly doesn't appear like he's set to force his way back to the big leagues any time soon.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: On bench for series finale
Rotowire
Wallner is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.
The 26-year-old went 1-for-8 with a three-run home run and three strikeouts across both games of Saturday's doubleheader, though it's worth noting the long ball came off position player Zach McKinstry. Wallner has a .508 OPS through 31 plate appearances this season and will sit Sunday despite the fact righty Jack Flaherty is pitching for Detroit.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Sitting out Wednesday
Rotowire
Wallner is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Dodgers.
Right-hander Bobby Miller is on the hill for the Dodgers and has had reverse splits in his career, holding lefties to a .592 OPS and righties to a .704 OPS. The left-handed-hitting Wallner will give way to Manuel Margot in left field, while Alex Kirilloff will occupy right field.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Heads to bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Wallner is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Brewers.
Wallner will take a seat for the first time since Opening Day, breaking a streak of three consecutive starts during which he went 1-for-6 with one walk and five strikeouts. He'll cede his spot in the lineup to Kyle Farmer, who mans third base while Alex Kirilloff, Max Kepler and Willi Castro serve as Minnesota's starting outfielders.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Breaks out of spring slump
Rotowire
Wallner went 1-for-3 with a his second spring home run in Saturday's Grapefruit League win over Boston. He's hitting just .114 (4-for-35) with 16 strikeouts this spring.
Wallner has struggled this spring, but there's been no signs his roster spot is in question and at least he's getting on track just before the regular season begins. He looks set to start in left field but will likely sit against left-handed pitching. He crushed right-handed pitching last season by hitting .281 with 12 home runs and a .970 OPS against righties. However, he struggled versus lefties with a .118 average and .481 OPS, though that came in just 46 plate appearances.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Slow start this spring
Rotowire
Wallner appears set to begin the season as Minnesota's starting left fielder, MLB.com reports. He's hitting just 1-for-10 in four games this spring.
Wallner took over the starting left field job in the second half of last season, so his projection as a starter isn't a surprise. However, the larger question is how much he'll play against left-handed pitching. He crushed right-handed pitching last season by hitting .281 with 12 home runs and a .970 OPS against righties. However, he struggled versus lefties with a .118 average and .481 OPS, though that came in just 46 plate appearances.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: On bench for ALDS Game 4
Rotowire
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: 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.
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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: 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: Sits in series opener
Rotowire
Wallner is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.
Wallner will be joined on the bench by fellow left-handed hitters Joey Gallo and Edouard Julien as the Tigers bring southpaw Joey Wentz to the hill for the series opener. Jordan Luplow will pick up the start in left field in place of Wallner, who appears on track to hold down a strong-side platoon role at least until the Twins get both of Byron Buxton (hamstring) and Alex Kirilloff (shoulder) back from the injured list.
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Twins' Matt Wallner: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
Wallner has now started 18 straight for the Twins, and after his heroics from this weekend, it's unlikely to change anytime soon. He paced the lineup with a 3-for-5 performance Saturday, which included a double, and then hit a walk-off two-run homer Sunday. The ball was hit 109 mph, traveling 415 feet, which is hardly an exception for him. His hardest-hit ball in just 82 at-bats is 113.7 mph, putting him in the 89th percentile. "He's a big boy and hits the ball so hard," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "But he's under control. He's never really out of control." It's a three-true-outcomes profile that led to impressive numbers in the minors, and as long as he can keep his strikeout rate around 30 percent (it's 29 now), Wallner has a chance to succeed in the majors. If you need cheap homers, he's your guy.
