Game Thread: Twins @ Orioles, 3/31/18 @ 6:05 PM

[BK432]

Lineups

 

Twins

2B Brian Dozier

1B Joe Mauer

3B Miguel Sano

LF Eddie Rosario

DH Logan Morrison

SS Ehire Adrianza

RF Max Kepler

CF Byron Buxton

C   Jason Castro

 

SP Kyle Gibson

 

Orioles

1B Chris Davis

SS Manny Machado

2B Jonathan Schoop

CF Adam Jones

LF Trey Mancini

RF Colby Rasmus

3B Tim Beckham

DH Anthony Santander

C   Caleb Joseph

 

SP Andrew Cashner

 

Twins v Orioles Game Two - This Time It's Personal

 

 

It's a funny thing about Opening Day. Win the opener and you feel like your team's invincible and can do no wrong. If you lose, things seem gloomy right away. Your team has to get that first win out of the way for everyone to feel better. And even then, if it doesn't come in game two.....well, 0-2 seems WAY more helpless than 1-1. Look at the Dodgers; their fans are already in full PANIK mode after losing two straight 1-0 games (Joe liked that one).

 

 

Fortunately for the Twins, relief may come as soon as today in the form of Andrew Cashner. Cashner delivered a 3.40 ERA last year that many teams rightly saw as fools' gold. His BABIP against and FIP numbers told a much different story, and Cashner had to settle for a very modest contract with Baltimore. He strikes out almost literally no one, so the Twins should get a lot of balls in play and plenty of opportunities to produce runs.

 

Then on the Minnesota side, Kyle Gibson gets the start. Now, the Orioles may be thinking much of the same from above about Gibson after getting befuddled by Jake Odorizzi on Thursday. They're looking at Gibson and feeling much better about their prospects. But this isn't your father's Kyle Gibson. Let me show you the ways:

 

Gibson's ways seemed to change after the calendar flipped to August last year. In the season's final two months, Gibson's command and ability to miss bats improved greatly. He had an ERA of 3.55, a K/9 of 8.4 and a K-BB% of 16.9 which is more than decent. And I'm not one to overemphasize spring stats, but these trends seemed to continue into March this year. Time will tell to see if Gibson will have a season-long leap in 2018, but the signs are encouraging, which would have Gibson becoming a solid mid-rotation starter.

 

To read more on all of the pitchers and players in this series, read a capsule here from @AndrewThares. For a more in-depth look on Kyle Gibson, read this great piece from @Lenzy2108.

 

Maybe it's the 3-4 inches of snow here in the MSP metro that makes spring feel even more fleeting - no warm temperatures around the corner yet! But despite all that, you can't deny that baseball is here. Even if we're cold on the outside, we feel great on the inside. Go Twins - enjoy the game!

Edited March 31, 2018 by BK432

[bluechipper]

Why is Adrianza batting 6th and Buxton 8th? That's a head scratcher.

[Squirrel]

Awesome start, BK! Love the Panik-mode pun

[Riverbrian]

http://i.perezhilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/arnold-schwarzenneger-bud-light-ping-pong.gif

[Riverbrian]

 

Why is Adrianza batting 6th and Buxton 8th? That's a head scratcher.

 

Because Dozier is batting first of course. 

[Blake]

 

Because Dozier is batting first of course. 

As good an explanation as any, I suppose.

[twinssporto]

 

Why is Adrianza batting 6th and Buxton 8th? That's a head scratcher.

Molitor's lineup card didn't have the little line _under the 6.  Its gotta be a typo.  I always mess up my 9 iron and 6 iron.

[Riverbrian]

 

Molitor's lineup card didn't have the little line _under the 6.  Its gotta be a typo.  I always mess up my 9 iron and 6 iron.

 

As good an explanation as any, I suppose. 

 

-Blake 3/31/18

[Aggies7]

Yay

[Riverbrian]

SANO

[Riverbrian]

That's all Gibby will need. 

[Aggies7]

That's all Gibby will need.

 

April fools is tomorrow silly

[Squirrel]

Hope so

[Teflon]

If Sano can just keep hitting his weight he'll eventually be a .350 hitter.

 

[Squirrel]

April fools is tomorrow silly

It’s your birthday tomorrow?

[Squirrel]

I hope that some of the guys on the team will chat with Machado and tell him how good he’d look in a Twins uniform.

[Aggies7]

It’s your birthday tomorrow?

That’s unkind

[Squirrel]

That’s unkind

Hey, I’m an April baby, too.

[Squirrel]

What’s everyone having for dinner tomorrow?

[Aggies7]

What’s everyone having for dinner tomorrow?

Heavenly Ham and lasagna

[Squirrel]

I saw a great April Fool’s Day joke some parents could pull off tomorrow. Take some foil wrapped chocolate eggs, unwrap them carefully, and replace the chocolate eggs with grapes and rewrap the foil around them. I think that would be funny.

[mickeymental]

 

What’s everyone having for dinner tomorrow?

chicken dinnah?

[Blake]

 

What’s everyone having for dinner tomorrow?

Ribyes, grilled veggies and bacon-wrapped baked baked potatoes with mini bundt cakes for desert.

[Squirrel]

chicken dinnah?

I hope that’s for tonight’s dinner, too!

[Blake]

First inning: Twins up 1-0 and Gibson struck out a batter.

 

This has been a CBU stand-in update.

[Nine of twelve]

April fools is tomorrow silly

April fools is silly no matter which day it falls on.

[Aggies7]

I have a troubling feeling that LoMo is going to be doing a lot of walking back to the dugout

[Squirrel]

I’ll be preparing lamb burgers with Mediterranean orzo salad

[twinssporto]

 

What’s everyone having for dinner tomorrow?

Roasted leg of lamb on the Big Green Egg

Oven roasted asparagus with a dash of balsamic vinegar and garlic

Roasted red potatoes with rosemary, thyme and more garlic

Spinach salad 

A few bottles of red wine

french bread

Maybe a few easter eggs

 

Just realized I got a lot of roasted stuff...

[Nine of twelve]

What’s everyone having for dinner tomorrow?

Don't know about dinner but I'm having brunch at Rock Elm Tavern.