The Minnesota Twins lost 9-2 to the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, Minnesota fell to 5 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the final American League Wild Card spot with a 70-79 record.
In other Twins news, several injury updates emerged on Sunday.
Twins' infielder Royce Lewis exits Sunday's loss to Guardians
Lewis left Sunday's loss to the Guardians after five innings with left shoulder soreness, the Twins announced. The first baseman dove to first base to get the final out of the fourth inning, and flied out to right field in the bottom half of the inning before being removed.
Lewis, who spent time in Triple-A earlier in the year, has slashed .230/.297/.391 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI over 114 games with the Twins this season.
Twins shortstop Kaelen Culpepper sits on Sunday
Culpepper sat out Sunday's game against Cleveland after suffering a right shoulder contusion on Saturday. The shortstop exited Saturday's game after being hit in the back of the shoulder in the third inning. X-rays were negative for a fracture, according to Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com.
Not good: Kaelen Cullpepper is coming out of the game after being hit in the back by a pitch. pic.twitter.com/zD7qPUwSo8
— Matthew Nethercott (@MattNethercott_) September 12, 2026
Culpepper has slashed .283/.342/.415 (114 wRC+) with three home runs and 11 RBI across 30 games since being promoted to the majors in early August. He has been the Twins' primary shortstop during his time in the majors.
LHP Kendry Rojas reinstated from Triple-A IL
The Twins reinstated left-hander Kendry Rojas from the Triple-A injured list earlier on Sunday. He allowed no hits and one walk with a strikeout over two scoreless innings for the Saints on Sunday. He threw 28 pitches in the outing.
Kendry Rojas is done today. The lefty returned to the Saints. He had one walk and one strikeout over two scoreless, hitless innings. 18 of 28 pitches were strikes. Looked good.
— Seth Stohs (@SethTweets) September 13, 2026
Before returning to in-game action on Sudnay, Rojas had been on the injured list since Aug. 22 with an oblique strain, per AaronGleeman.com's Aaron Gleeman. Before landing on the IL, Rojas exited a start after throwing just one inning due to his oblique issue.
Rojas has posted a 3.34 ERA with a 26.2% strikeout rate and a 16.9% walk rate over 29 2/3 innings with the Twins this season. Minnesota sent the southpaw back to Triple-A after acquiring Jeff Hoffman at the trade deadline.
Rojas mainly served as a reliever with the Twins. Before landing on the IL, he had been pitching as a starter with the Saints. The southpaw has a 3.00 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP and 35 strikeouts over 36 innings for St. Paul this season.
The Twins clearly want the option to use Rojas as a starter next year. But there may not be room for him in the rotation, so Minnesota may consider putting him back in its bullpen next season.
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