2-0. That's been the theme of the 2023 season so far, for the 2023 Twins. Two days after defeating the Royals 2-0 behind two runs in the 6th inning, and some very timely infield defense, the Twins managed to scrape across runs and turn it over to the bullpen. Sound familiar?

Here is my 6-4-3 on Saturday's 2-0 victory. Six things or players who stuck out to me, during today's game. Four things I really liked to see, and updates on three former Twins who had a good day!

• Byron Buxton remains hot at the plate. Buxton doubled to left in the first, a hustle double that resulted in Twins fans collectively holding their breath after he had the wind knocked out of him and was slow getting up. After a walk by Larnach, Jose Miranda singled to center to score Buxton. In the sixth, Buxton singled to right, and advanced to second on a passed ball by Perez, Miranda grounded into a fielders choice, advancing Buxton to third, he scored on a shallow sac fly which was made possible by a great piece of base running by Miranda who faked like he was going to tag, which caused the ball to be cut off, rather than have a play at the plate. Through two games as DH, Buxton is slashing .444/.444/.778. I love to see him pulling the ball, taking extra bases, being aggressive on the base paths and you've seen what the results are through the first two games.

• Christian Vazquez collected two more hits today and is batting .571 on the season. After calling an outstanding game two days ago with Lopez, and having seen Gray struggle after a seven-pitch first inning, Vazquez hasn't had any issues at the plate. Given he's in a timeshare with Jeffers, I have to think we will see Jeffers tomorrow in the series finale, as the Twins try to remain unbeaten. Having that veteran bat in the catcher position, usually a weak spot on offense, has been a pleasant surprise so far through two games.
• Sonny Gray-- Gray wasn't as sharp as he normally has been, issuing four walks in five innings. He's been trying a two-seam fastball and Morneau on the broadcast said he's trying to get a feel for it and see where he can be effective. Three of those four walks were in the third inning, yet he was able to hold the Royals off the scoreboard. Gray had his defense help him in the fourth with two guys on and one out. He got Nicky Lopez to ground into an inning-ending double play. He got the win but wasn't as sharp as he has been. His final line was (W-1) 5IP, 3H,0R,4BB, and 1K on 81 pitches, just 53 strikes.
• Twins bullpen-- For the second game in a row, the Twins bullpen pitched outstanding and was the highlight of the game. After Gray threw his five innings, the Twins bullpen consisted of Alcala, Jax, Thielbar, and J. Lopez. The bullpen pitched well and gave up just one hit and struck out four combined. Alcala, Jax, and Thielbar all recorded a hold, while Jorge Lopez recorded his first save of the 2023 season.
• Twins infield defense-- Once again, the infield defense, save for a Miranda error early in the game, was spectacular, showing range of motion, quick releases, and an awareness of the situation(which the Twins haven't had in recent years on defense) this was a welcome sight. They were aided again by two HUGE double plays by Lopez in the fourth and Isabel in the sixth, both of which ended any hopes of KC scoring. If the infield defense continues to generate double plays at this rate, (four in the first two games; and in BIG situations to get out of potentially dangerous innings) it will be another boost to the pitching staff.
• Strike rate of 49%. The Twins pitchers combined, continued to throw strikes, with the exception of Gray, whose command was hit and miss all day, the Twins threw 86 of 132 pitches overall for strikes and 20/35 (57.1%) first pitch strikes. The bullpen threw 34/49 pitches for strikes, a whopping 69.3%. Not issuing free passes and managing to get double plays, will continue to be crucial for the Twins bullpen as we get deeper in the season.

4 Things I really liked seeing

• Timely hitting--More clutch hits in the middle to later parts of the game, getting insurance runs for the Twins.
• Aggressive baserunning-- Buxton turned a single into a double, and later scored today and was also aggressive on opening day. The Twins being able and willing to be aggressive and take chances on the bases has paid off so far and gotten them extra runs.
• Continued to get out of jams-- The Twins have gotten out of two potential jams per game, via ground ball double plays. These have been huge for them as it's really handcuffed the Royals to a few extra-base hits and no real threats after.
• Bullpen success-- Through two games, the Twins bullpen has pitched 7.1, 1H,0R, 2BB, 4K. They've entered in the middle of the game both days and have been lights out after that. Given last season's struggles, this has been the brightest spot so far in the 2023 season so far, in my view.

3 Former Twins who had a good day:

• Mitch Garver-- The former Twins catcher hit a pair of 3R HRs today in a 16-3 win over the Phillies. He was two for four with 3R scored, 2HR, 6 RBIs and is hitting .500 in this young season.
• Josh Donaldson- Hit his first HR of the season in a 7-5 loss to the Giants. That was his only hit,
• Gio Urshela-- He was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI in a 13-1 routing of the Athletics.

The Twins have looked good so far and have yet to allow a run on the season, Gray wasn't as sharp as Lopez was, but he made enough pitches to get himself out of jams and keep his team in the game. The Twins will go for a series sweep tomorrow with Joe Ryan on the mound.