Trevor

Larnach

Statcast says the homer, a 360-foot liner to right off Tim Hill, would have left four ballparks, which doesn’t even account for it getting a little help from the wind blowing out to right at Yankee Stadium today. It was just the 14th regular (non-inside the park) homer with a launch angle 18 degrees of lower this season. Still, it was an impressive 106-mph drive from Larnach in a matchup with a quality left-handed reliever. It was his sixth career homer against a southpaw. He’s 5-for-28 with two homers against lefties while serving as a platoon player this year.

Larnach also was able to put down his first career sac bunt after the D-backs brought in a lefty to face him in the sixth inning today. It didn’t lead to a run, but that’s a worthwhile tactic for Larnach against lefties, considering he’s hitting just .148 against them this season and .210/.272/.305 for his career. Fortunately, Larnach has been strong enough against righties that he’s hitting .281/.378/.427 overall this year.

Larnach started only two of the three games against the Rangers, but he went 7-for-11 with two homers in the series sweep. He entered with just three homers on the season, even though he’s been better than usual when it comes to average and, especially, OBP. Almost exclusively a platoon guy this season, he’s at .273/.373/.417 through 217 plate appearances.

Larnach’s fourth career four-hit game pushed him up to .264/.368/.396 for the season, but while that’s really pretty good, he hasn’t at all enhanced his stock with a 30 percent hard-hit rate that is barely two-thirds of his career average, His bat speed is down, and he’s managed just four homers in 212 plate appearances. He’s been fine for the Twins in the process, but it hasn’t been in the kind of way that is going to make him more attractive to his current team or to other potential suitors in 2027.

It’s a rare day off for Larnach with an opposing right-hander on the hill. Ryan Kreidler will start in his place in left field and will bat eighth for the Twins against Royals’ right-hander Michael Wacha on Friday night in Minneapolis.

Larnach put Minnesota ahead with a 424-foot no-doubter to right field off Pirates starter Jared Jones in the third inning. It was his third long ball of the season and first time leaving the yard since May 16. He’s been unusually hot of late, hitting .346 (9-for-26) over his last seven games.

Larnach enjoyed an excellent day at the plate, starting with a base hit and a run scored in the first inning. He added a double in the third, then singled and scored again in the fifth. Larnach collected his fourth hit of the day with a single in the sixth. The four-hit game raises his batting average from .248 entering the day to .271 with two homers and 20 runs scored over 141 plate appearances. A lower strikeout rate has come with a significant drop in his hard-hit rate this season, signaling a change to a more contact-oriented approach for the 29-year-old outfielder.

Larnach is back in left field and hitting cleanup following a three-game absence due to upper-back tightness. The 29-year-old outfielder has been an on-base machine this season, slashing .268/.398/.381 with one homer, 11 RBI and two steals in 33 games.

Larnach has missed three straight games with the lingering issue. Twins manager Derek Shelton told reporters Larnach has resumed baseball activities and should be available this weekend. It sounds like he’s trending in the right direction and fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day.

Larnach, arguably the Twins’ best hitter at .265/.468/.412 this season, was up with runners on first and third with two outs in the fourth today, only to lose his at-bat on an ill-fated double-steal that saw Brooks Lee get easily retired on the throw back home by Elly De La Cruz. That might have been pretty big in what ended up being an extra-inning loss.