CLEVELAND — Twins center fielder Carlos Gomez crashed into the outfield wall to make a first-inning catch tonight and lay on the warning track for several minutes before leaving Progressive Field on a stretcher.

Gomez, 22, appeared to injure his right hip. He raced into the left-center field gap to take a hit from Cleveland’s Ben Francisco. Grady Sizemore tagged up at second base and scored on the play.

From his side, Gomez flipped the ball to left fielder Delmon Young, who fired the ball back to the infield.

Updates as we get them.

Update (6:30 p.m.): Denard Span moved from right field to center field, and Jason Kubel entered the game in right field.

Gomez hit the wall at full speed, with the ride side of his body taking the brunt of the collision. After making the catch, he grabbed his right hip area.

Update (6:35 p.m.): Gomez was diagnosed with a lower back injury and taken to the Lutheran Hospital for precautionary tests. He had all movement and feeling, the Twins announced. Gomez was fitted with a neck brace on the field.

And Span has just crashed into the wall, too, in nearly the same spot. Span was shaken up but appears to be OK. He was trying to catch a two-run double by Kelly Shoppach when he collided with the wall, and the ball dropped out of his glove.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 6:26 pm and is filed under Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.