Just as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins kicked off their series opener at Target Field, a series of unfortunate circumstances struck. 

After Kyle Tucker earned a walk in his first at-bat of the game with one out in the second, he was immediately pinch-run for by Alex Call following a Tommy Edman single. 

As Tucker rounded second base, he was seen grabbing his right side and squatting on the base, his face showing displeasure. 

From the dugout, Dave Roberts called for time so that Call could replace Tucker on the base paths. 

Tucker did not speak to medical staff upon entering the dugout; rather, he spoke with Dodgers hitting coaches. 

Los Angeles officially announced that the right-fielder exited the game due to lower back spasms. 

For now, there is no indication of how severe Tucker's premature exit is, but it comes at a very unfortunate time. 

Tucker is not having the season he envisioned with his new club after signing a four-year, 240$ million contract with Los Angeles. 

In 273 at-bats this year, the 29-year-old outfielder is slashing .234/.333/.707 with six home runs and 40 runs driven in. 

For the past couple of weeks, it has been a recurring theme on when Tucker would break out. 

Despite the struggles, Roberts had recently commended Tucker's work ethic behind the scenes. 

“He’s a quiet guy by nature, but when you’re internalizing everything and taking that all on yourself, that’s tough,” Roberts said on Tucker navigating his way through a new team. “Just having more conversations, laughing and joking with the guys, loosens him up a little bit.”

Just as the Dodgers were trying to figure out how to manage Tucker's absence, Dalton Rushing was replaced by Chuckie Robinson behind the dish just an inning later. 

The Dodgers came out and said that Rushing left the game to rule out a concussion.

Rushing was hit with a foul tip on the face mask on the very first pitch of the ballgame. 

This, in terms, means that Los Angeles wants to avoid concussion protocol with Rushing. If he were to be placed on concussion protocol, he would have to be placed on the seven-day Injured List and would have to undergo a series of tests to be cleared. 

Just like Tucker, the Dodgers can not afford to lose Rushing, especially with the state of their catching depth at the moment.

With Will Smith not traveling with the team due to him still recovering from neck inflammation, the Dodgers only have Robinson to lean on.

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