FORT MYERS, Fla. — Before the Twins even played an inning in the Grapefruit League this spring, injuries sidetracked their top two starting pitchers.

The Twins announced Friday that Pablo López will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery Wednesday. On Saturday, about 15 minutes before first pitch against the Boston Red Sox, the Twins announced Joe Ryan was scratched from his start.

Ryan’s injury is not nearly as serious — the Twins announced low back tightness on the right side for the all-star starter — but it does put his status for the World Baseball Classic in jeopardy. Manager Derek Shelton did not have an update after the game game on Ryan, who had left the ballpark to have imaging taken. The Twins expect to have more information on Sunday.

Shelton said Ryan felt something in his back when he was preparing.

“He was in a good spot,” Shelton said. “There is day-to-day soreness with everybody, but this is something that came up.”

In his place, the Twins called upon minor leaguer Eston Stull, whom they signed last year out of independent ball. Stull tossed two scoreless innings in the Twins’ 7-2 loss to the Red Sox.

Jeffers tests ABS

Ryan Jeffers didn’t wait too long to use the Twins’ first ABS (automated ball-strike) challenge this spring, tapping his helmet to challenge a pitch from Stull that he believed to be a strike.

Jeffers lost that challenge in an eventual walk to Masataka Yoshida. He won the next challenge, stealing a strike for Simeon Woods Richardson on the very bottom of the strike zone during Yoshida’s next plate appearance.

The Twins tested out the system last spring, and it has been in use in the minor leagues for years. But they’re still trying to figure out how best deploy it in-season.

Likely no one will end up challenging more than Jeffers, who is expected to be the Twins’ primary catcher. Pitchers, catchers and batters are allowed to challenge, though early indications are that the challenges primarily will not come from pitchers.

“I thought it was good. We knew last year in spring training from tracking it that he was really good at it,” Shelton said. “We have to figure out where this is at.”

Briefly

Royce Lewis started spring training with a bang, hitting a home run off Red Sox starter Payton Tolle. He singled in his second at-bat and stole a base. … Simeon Woods Richardson, who came on in relief rather than starting because Ryan was scheduled to start, threw two scoreless innings and struck out a pair. … Taj Bradley, who is ramping up to compete in the WBC for Mexico, is expected to start when the Twins take on the Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon in North Port, Fla.

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North/Tartan senior Sydney Johnson captivated the crowd and captured two individual titles in the Class 2A state gymnastics meet Saturday afternoon at Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

Johnson won on the balance beam with a 9.700 and claimed her second individual championship for her 9.750 floor routine. She finished third in the all-around competition with a 38.375, behind Monticello senior Lauren Hansen’s 38.600.

Johnson said it came as a surprise, winning two individual titles. But the results did not come by accident.

“I was not expecting this at all, like, at all,” Johnson said. “I worked hard for it, though.”

Johnson scored a 9.575 on vault in the first rotation, jumping out in front in the all-around competition. It wound up being the seventh-best vault score of the meet.

After a 9.350 on the uneven bars, the fifth-best score of the meet in the event, Johnson produced some magic with a 9.700 on balance beam in the fifth rotation.

Johnson, in the seventh rotation, claimed the floor exercise lead, thanks to a score of 9.750, overtaking New Prague sophomore Hailey Proshek’s 9.700.

The moment the judges produced her score for her floor routine, Johnson said it sank in that she was in contention for an individual title.

“I’m still shocked about it,” Johnson said after collecting all five of her medals (the top eight finishers for each event received a medal). “It’s crazy.”

Johnson received personal-best scores for her floor routine and balance beam. She said her relationship with her coaching staff allowed her to get to this moment.

“They were very supportive,” Johnson said. “They were willing to work with me. I wanted to work with them. I’m thankful for them as well.”

The North/Tartan coaching staff is made up of head coach Leah Ingram, along with assistant coaches Megan Weber, DMoe Ingram and Makayla Briggs.

Schwellenbach second

East Ridge senior Laney Schwellenbach was the final gymnast to go on the balance beam, needing a 9.450 to claim the all-around crown. A fall in the middle of her routine cost her a chance at the title, but she still finished second with a 38.400 overall score.

In the individual events, Schwellenbach finished runner-up with a 9.625 on uneven bars and a 9.850 on vault. She also finished in third place with a 9.675 on floor.

“Guys and Dolls,” which opened Friday, marks the beginning of a new era for Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. It’s the debut production from new artistic director Tamara Kangas Erickson.

Kangas Erickson, of course, isn’t new to CDT. She’s been the resident choreographer for more than two decades and was the obvious choice to take over after longtime president Michael Brindisi died unexpectedly a year ago. And given it’s a particularly dance-heavy show, “Guys and Dolls” fits right into her wheelhouse.

In terms of both visual spectacle and immersive action, “Guys and Dolls” delivers.

With music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and the book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, “Guys and Dolls” is based on several Damon Runyon short stories about the intersection of gangsters, gamblers and religious folks on the streets of New York City.

The show was an instant success when it debuted on Broadway in 1950. It ran for more than 1,200 performances and won five Tony Awards, including best musical. It’s since been revived countless times and staged by companies around the world.

Kangas Erickson drew inspiration from the latest revival in London in 2023. Nicholas Hytner set the action on an in-the-round stage, which provided a more immersive and intimate experience for the audience.

Taking full advantage of CDT’s large stage, Kangas Erickson skipped using a fixed set with platforms and instead created mini environments with moving set pieces. She also often pushed the actors toward the front of the stage, which helped amp up the energy from both the cast and the audience.

The cast includes many familiar faces from CDT’s pool of talent, but Kangas Erickson made the bold choice of using new-to-the-company actors in three of the four leads. Whether intentional or not, it felt like a statement that Kangas Erickson plans to honor the past while adding her own fresh ideas to the proceedings.

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Kangas Erickson took on Broadway vet Linda Talcott Lee, an Emmy winner for “The Comedy Hall of Fame with Jason Alexander,” as co-choreographer and the pair have worked wonders. CDT has a well-earned reputation for high-caliber singers and dancers and as far as the latter goes, “Guys and Dolls” boasts some of the biggest and boldest dance sequences in recent memory.

Costume designer Rich Hamson created a dazzling, Technicolor array of outfits, with the many jewel tones highlighted by Sue Ellen Berger’s innovative light design.

“Guys and Dolls” is the sort of show where the actors can go as big as they want and the cast pretty much followed suit to create a hyper-real world filled with big personalities that never get too hammy. The acting is terrific across the board, but Matthew Hall and Ryan London Levin deserve extra kudos for the casual chemistry they display as two second-tier gangsters.

The only real fault in “Guys and Dolls” is the story itself. It’s about as paper-thin as it gets for an old-school Broadway production and it’s full of sexist nonsense that wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, fly today. If you can set aside the sometimes problematic aspects of the plot, “Guys and Dolls” is a must-see feast for the senses.

‘Guys and Dolls’

When: Through Sept. 26
Where: Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, 501 W. 78th St., Chanhassen
Tickets: $146.98-$92.54 via 952-934-1525 or chanhassendt.com
Capsule: Tamara Kangas Erickson makes a strong showing as CDT’s new leader.

The Gophers men’s basketball team shrugged off another bad-luck injury to add the latest chapter to its feel-good story on Saturday.

A day after starting forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson was ruled out indefinitely with a foot injury — Minnesota’s third starter to go down this season — the U blew out Rutgers 80-61 at Williams Arena.

The Gophers’ (13-14, 6-10 Big Ten) hot shooting led to their second-straight victory and stopped Rutgers’ (11-16, 4-12) run of two wins in a row.

Minnesota was 60% from the field and 58% from 3-point range. It was the first time the U shot that percentage from the field since February 2024 and the U’s 15 made threes Saturday were the most in a Big Ten game this season.

When head coach Niko Medved was hired last March, he put out a mandate to add outside shooting and he checked that box with transfer portal additions Cade Tyson and Bobby Durkin.

Tyson scored a game-high 27 points on 7 of 9 from deep. Dukin added 12 on 4 of 7 from behind the arc.

When Durkin made three treys in a row in the second half Saturday, fans at The Barn chanted “Bob-by!”

Langston Reynolds added 19 points and nine assists and provided good defense on Scarlet Knights leading scorer Tariq Francis, who was held six points below his scoring average. He had 10 points on 4 of 12 shooting.

On Friday, head coach Niko Medved said Crocker-Johnson will likely miss the rest of the season after pain became too severe in his injured foot. The U’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer had missed the two previous games, a 69-57 loss to Washington last weekend and a 61-44 win over Oregon on Tuesday.

Without Crocker-Johnson, Minnesota’s rotation stayed at six total players, with five playing more than 3x minutes.

Saturday’s 11 a.m. tipoff led to a groggy start for both teams at The Barn; Minnesota missed its opening five shots, while Rutgers began 2 for 9 from the field.

Coming out of the under-16-minute timeout, Minnesota put together a 9-0 run over next three minutes to take an 11-6 lead.

Minnesota surged late in the half taking a 36-23 lead at the break. Cade Tyson and Isaac Asuma each hit threes in the last minute of the half.

The threes would keep falling in the second half.

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