Dodgers update injury status in Minnesota: Tucker sits out, Rushing is fine, 'Spanish teacher' hits homer in rehab game

Heavy rain at Minneapolis's Target Field disrupted the pre-game preparations for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Minnesota Twins, delaying the originally scheduled start by 25 minutes.

All pre-game batting practice was canceled. Taking advantage of a lull in the rain, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts provided an update on the injuries of two key players hurt yesterday. Right fielder Kyle Tucker and catcher Dalton Rushing both exited the game due to injuries within just one and a half innings of the series opener.

Tucker left early due to a lower back spasm and has been officially ruled out for today's game. The 29-year-old outfielder stated before the game that he felt slightly better than the day before but acknowledged he still had some soreness when rotating his body.

The Dodgers are taking a cautious approach, hoping that this short break will allow Tucker to recover physically and also reset mentally. Roberts revealed that the team intends to keep Tucker out for the entire series in Minneapolis, with the goal of having him return to the starting lineup for the series opener in San Diego on Saturday, following Friday's off day.

"Counting the off day, four days is kind of a middle ground," Roberts said when asked about potentially placing Tucker on the injured list. "Hopefully he can use this time well—first to let his body heal, and also to have a mental reset. Hopefully four days will be enough."

Whether Tucker can ultimately avoid the injured list entirely will depend on whether he can resume baseball activities tomorrow.

"If he can swing, ideally he can take some swings tomorrow, do some activities, and then head into the off day," Roberts said. "But if not, then on Saturday we might have a tougher decision to make."

Tucker himself is confident, believing he won't need a long break.

"I'm pretty confident," Tucker said about whether he could avoid the injured list. "I feel pretty good right now. We'll see how things go tomorrow."

The catcher's side also brought positive news. Rushing was struck directly on the facemask by a foul tip during yesterday's game and left the field for a concussion precautionary evaluation. Before today's game, he voluntarily stated that he felt fine and was just waiting for the second evaluation later that evening.

Rushing completed his second concussion evaluation before today's game, but the team has not yet released the results. Although Rushing told the team he was fine, Roberts smiled and noted that players' self-assessments are sometimes unreliable.

"He says he's fine," Roberts said. "But things like this aren't up to me—we have to wait for the medical team's decision. Still, hearing him say he's okay is good news. I hope he can at least be on the bench today in case we need him."

Meanwhile, Teoscar Hernández officially began his minor league rehab assignment at another venue, giving Dodgers fans a long-awaited treat right from the start.

In the Triple-A Oklahoma City road game against Reno, Hernández started in left field. Recovering from a left hamstring strain, he crushed a two-run home run to left field in his second at-bat of the day. The homer, with an exit velocity of 104.7 mph, came off a slider from Aces left-hander Tommy Henry.

Hernández's first rehab game ended with 1 hit in 3 at-bats: a groundout to shortstop in the first inning (exit velocity 92.0 mph), and a swinging strikeout in the top of the sixth, after which he was replaced before the bottom of the sixth. Although he had been out for nearly four weeks—he was placed on the injured list on May 29—his feel at the plate was completely familiar upon returning.

This is undoubtedly a shot in the arm for the Dodgers. Since Hernández strained his hamstring on May 27, left field has been manned by a rotation of Ryan Ward and Alex Call. But before his injury, the veteran had been on a hot streak over his last 15 games, batting .346 with an OPS of .973.

Hernández could return to the majors as early as next week, possibly making his official comeback in the series against the Athletics in West Sacramento on Tuesday.