BEAT UP ENTERING HOMESTAND: The Twins fielded a very inexperienced lineup on Sunday. While a couple players (Eduardo Escobar, Joe Mauer) got days off, a rash of injuries over the last three weeks has led to lineups like the one on Sunday. To recap, Danny Santana, Trevor Plouffe and Trevor May are out for the rest of the season with injuries (although Plouffe is holding out hope he can play again). Miguel Sano is back in the Twin Cities dealing with back issues. Eddie Rosario might have a fractured thumb, which would end his season. The Twins head for the final homestand of the season beaten up, and it could lead to more interesting lineups like Sunday's.

GROSSMAN'S BIG DAY: Robbie Grossman can help a team, most likely as an extra outfielder. He tied a career-high with four hits on Sunday. He's batting .280 with a .387 on base percentage. Any time the spread between batting average and on base percentage is over 100, that player is drawing a lot of walks. So he has value. He's shown that he's not the smoothest defensive player at times, taking bad routes, doesn't have a strong arm, etc. But he's someone you can start occasionally because he can get on base. ``He hasn't played every day here as of late," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. ``But I have been looking for opportunities to keep him sharp and play against lefties primarily. It was a good day for him." With Eddie Rosario out, look for Grossman to get a few more starts in left.

GIBSON'S DAY: Kyle Gibson said he did not feel good coming out of the bullpen warmup session, and it showed. He couldn't find the plate - or too much of it - as he put the Twins in a 2-0 hole. But he recovered after that. He needed just 10 pitches in the second inning and 11 in the fourth as he faced the minimum in both innings. Still, he earned his 6-10 record. The first inning could have been worse if Travis d'Arnaud's liner wasn't hit right at Brian Dozier to start a double play, and if Buddy Boshers doesn't clean up his bases loaded mess in the sixth. But Gibson had issues on Sunday. He said something I've never heard him say. His curveball was better than his slider. That has never happened.