Following Rodriguez’s first MLB homer in the third inning of Saturday’s game against the Guardians at Target Field, the Twins rallied for two additional runs. The next batter, Kaelen Culpepper, was hit on his back by a pitch from Guardians reliever Franco Aleman.
Culpepper fell to the ground and looked as though the wind had been knocked out of him by the 95.3 mph fastball. It took a moment for Culpepper to get up, but he left the field on his own power.
“It’s the same place he got hit the other day,” said Twins manager Derek Shelton, referring to Culpepper’s hit-by-pitch in Friday night’s game. “Once it was to the point, [he had] a little trouble catching his breath and where he was at, we’re not going to continue.”
After his exit, the Twins tacked on one more run in the inning.
The Twins announced that Culpepper has a right shoulder contusion. The X-rays came back negative for a fracture, and he is considered day to day.
“He’s pretty sore. He got it in the right spot. So it’ll probably be a day or two. He battled to stay in the game, which I really appreciate and like, but I think we just thought with where he got hit, because he got hit right underneath the blade there, and it was firm,” said Shelton.
Ryan Kreidler entered to run the bases for Culpepper and took over at shortstop.