Searching for some pop at DH, Twins start slugger Carson McCusker vs. Yankees

With the Twins facing a lefthanded starter — New York Yankees All-Star Carlos Rodón — for the first time in 10 days Monday night, it seemed like a good time to get righthanded slugger Carson McCusker the third big-league start of his career. And not just because of the opposite-hand advantage.

McCusker, after all, came just a foot or two away from his first career home run Saturday night, launching a ball 402 feet to straightaway center while pinch hitting. And on Sunday, again as a pinch hitter, he bashed a ground ball 108 mph off the bat, the second-hardest-hit ball by a Twin all day, but directly at Arizona shortstop Geraldo Perdomo.

“It’s not that easy to go up there and pinch hit when you’re not playing much. But he’s had good at-bats, swung at pretty good pitches [and] laid off pitches down in the zone,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli pointed out after writing McCusker in Monday’s lineup as the designated hitter. “He’s looked pretty good. He can go out there and do some damage.”

That’s the idea, and it would be a nice change from the below-average production the Twins have received from their DH this season, and especially recently. Entering Monday, in their nine games since the previous homestand, Twins DHs (mostly Trevor Larnach and Edouard Julien) were 4-for-33, a .121 batting average that included only one extra-base hit: a leadoff home run by Byron Buxton, who was making a cameo appearance in the final game of last week’s road trip.

Entering Monday, Twins designated hitters this season had only a .719 OPS this year, 20th best in the majors, and had driven in a paltry 67 runs — fewer than any other American League team’s DHs.

So McCusker, who hit 22 home runs with Class AAA St. Paul this year and last year hit a 504-foot home run at Wichita, one of the longest minor league home runs of the season — got the call. It’s only his third start for the Twins, and first since Aug. 9.

“It’s basically a chance to see where you’re at against one of the best pitchers in baseball,” McCusker said of Rodón, who entered Monday with a 9-3 career record against Minnesota. “It’s a cool opportunity.”

Is basketball height an advantage or disadvantage in baseball?

“It can be both, for sure. It’s an advantage for long levers [in your swing] and power, but at the same time, body control is a little bit tougher when you’re that size,” McCusker said. “Judge does an incredible job of controlling his body when he swings, keeping all those movements in line, under control. It’s not easy.”

Christian Vázquez has some research to do this week, and not about baseball.

“I’ve never been to Memphis,” the injured Twins catcher said. “What is there to do?”

He will get his chance to find out later this week. Vázquez, out since Aug. 5 because of an infection in his shoulder, will take live batting practice against another injured Twins player, lefthander Anthony Misiewicz, on Tuesday, in anticipation of beginning a rehab assignment with the Saints on Thursday in Memphis. He will serve as DH at first but will catch a game or two as well in hopes of rejoining the team for its final road trip, next week to Texas and Philadelphia.

• For the second year in a row, righthander Pablo López is the Twins’ nominee for MLB’s Roberto Clemente Award, the sport’s top humanitarian honor. López, also nominated by the Miami Marlins in 2022, has raised thousands of dollars for children’s hospitals and educational causes in Minnesota, along with animal adoption and youth development charities. The Clemente Award winner will be announced at the World Series next month.