Twins’ Kepler (hamstring) starts second IL stint

The Minnesota Twins have placed outfielder Max Kepler on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.

Kepler, 30, left Thursday’s 5-3 win over the San Diego Padres in the seventh inning after appearing to hurt his leg as he ran to first base. Kepler pinch hit in Friday’s series opener against the Chicago Cubs.

“We were hoping Kep obviously wouldn’t need to go on the IL,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He got an MRI, and the MRI seems OK. But he’s still pretty tight, and we don’t think he’s going to be able to play for a handful of days.”

This is Kepler’s second stint on the IL this season. He missed time from April 8-15 due to patellar tendinitis in his right knee.

In 28 games this season, Kepler is hitting .212 (21-for-99) with five doubles, six home runs, 14 RBIs, 10 walks and 17 runs scored.

Earlier Saturday, the Twins recalled right-handed pitcher Cole Sands from Triple-A St. Paul. Sands, 25, started the season on the Twins’ Opening Day roster, posting a 2.25 ERA with three strikeouts over two outings before being optioned to St. Paul on April 14.

In corresponding moves, the Twins recalled outfielder Trevor Larnach and optioned right-handed pitcher Dereck Rodriguez to St. Paul.

Larnach, 26, started the year with the Twins, hitting .221 (23-for-104) with three doubles, one triple, three home runs, 19 RBIs and 18 walks in 31 games before being optioned to Triple-A on May 5. In four games with the Saints, Larnach went 7-for-14 with two doubles, two home runs, six RBIs, three walks and five runs.

He said he was on his way to the Saints’ stadium in St. Paul when he got a call that he was heading back to the majors, so he instead drove to Target Field in Minneapolis.

“[You] roll with the punches, whether you break with the team or you don’t, you get called up, you get called down,” Larnach said before Saturday’s game. “You can’t take it too personally. It’s baseball.”

Rodriguez, 30, made one appearance for the Twins since having his contract selected May 5. He allowed one run on one hit with one walk while getting two outs in Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Cubs.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.