Twins 2, Royals 0: Twins and Pablo Lopez Celebrate the First Win of the Season!

[Sherry Cerny]

In a bitter trade before the season that sent Luis Arraez to Miami, the Twins acquired pitcher Pablo Lopez who won the confidence of the Twins staff and was named the Opening Day starter. It was his first Opening Day nod, and Lopez and the Twins got their first win of the season!

Image courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, USA Today

Box Score
SP: Pablo Lopez: 5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB,8 K (85 pitches, 50 strikes (58.8%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Pablo Lopez (0.316), Byron Buxton (0.156), Griffin Jax (0.89)
Bottom 3 WPA: Max Kepler (-0.144), Carlos Correa (-0.88), Nick Gordon (-0.85)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

New Season, New Team 
Fifteen players on the Opening Day 26-man roster were not on the team last season, but Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton were.  They started the game by getting on base with a couple of singles. Buxton has been placed in the DH position while they continue to assess his knee. The move appeared to be frustrating for some fans, but for this writer and the team, I believe it’s a great move. 

It was enjoyable to see the new faces of Michael A. Taylor, Joey Gallo and Christian Vazquez mingled in with the veteran players. New acquisition Taylor seemed to fit right into centerfield. Trevor Larnach was out the majority of last season with a groin injury that led to an abdominal pull, but he certainly showed why he is an important piece of the lineup. 

Pitchers on both teams and their defenses seemed to keep things at bay through the fifth inning, until Byron Buxton hit a triple to lead off of the sixth inning  and came home on a single from Correa. Zack Grienke was pulled with the Twins ahead 1-0. 

Dueling Pitchers
Sonny Gray’s statement about mound time and pitchers wanting to stay out longer than four innings, has been a recent story line. That became more intriguing when, in the fifth inning, starter Pablo Lopez loaded up the bases. Pitching manager Pete Maki made a mound visit with bases loaded and one out, and appeared to calm Lopez down. The Twins got out of the inning with a 6-3-4 double play and he returned in the sixth to retire one more batter before Manager Rocco Baldelli took him out of the game. 

Taking it all in
The new rules with the pitch clock certainly paced the game a lot quicker, but this writer found myself looking less and less at the pitch clock throughout the game. The pace of the game certainly did move faster, but it didn’t seem to affect the pleasure of the game. (Game time was 2 hours, 32 minutes!)

The only time it felt rushed was when Amir Garrett seemed to barely get set before throwing the pitch. Oddly, that seemed to benefit the Twins as Donovan Solano singled to extend the Twins lead to 2-0 as Larnach was brought home in the sixth inning. 

Even though the Twins maintained their lead, three times they left the bases full without bringing anyone home. Not everything can be perfect, but a repeat of last year leaving guys on base consistently would be frustrating.

What’s Next? 
The Twins will send veteran Sonny Gray in game two of the series (0-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound on Saturday after the built-in off day for the entire league. The team will face Jordan Lyles, a RHP who finished last season with a 4.42 ERA. The game is scheduled for 1:10 pm.

Postgame Interviews
(Coming Soon)
 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	THU	TOT
Sands	45	0	0	0	0	45
Thielbar	0	24	0	0	11	35
Alcala	33	0	0	0	0	33
López	0	22	0	0	5	27
Duran	11	0	0	0	16	27
Moran	0	12	0	0	0	12
Jax	0	0	0	0	9	9
Pagán	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[wsnydes]

It would have been swell to not leave the bases loaded without scoring as often, but a win is a win is a chicken dinner and I'll take it.

Love the new pace of the game.  Very refreshing!

[GKuehl]

Fantastic pitching throughout the game -- Pablo Lopez did a good job getting out of a few jams, and the bullpen was lights out (great to see our 4 big guns in the bullpen looking really good right out of the gate). 

[cHawk]

I was unfortunately unable to catch this game live but I kept track of the score on the MLB app.

For starters, Pablo Lopez looked great. I’m not going make any declarations after one game (trust me, I know better than that) but I think he’ll be a solid component of our rotation this year. My only critique is not directed at Lopez but rather Baldelli. Lopez was dealing and had thrown only 85 pitches. Why yank him in that situation? I love the potential this pitching staff has but it will struggle if the starting pitchers cannot consistently pitch six innings.

On the other hand, the offense scored 2 runs on 9 hits. That is a trend that has been constant throughout the Baldelli-era, and it annoys me to hell and back. If this team is to score more than 3 runs per game in the postseason, they must improve in this regard.

Will this team get better or worse as the season plays out? We all hope the former.

[rwilfong86]

Great team effort, some timely hitting and defense came through

[jkcarew]

Looks like both teams are winning the trade so far. Is that possible?

Sole possession of first-place. We'll all be up into the wee hours keeping track of that Cleveland/Seattle game!

[GKuehl]

3 minutes ago, cHawk said:

I was unfortunately unable to catch this game live but I kept track of the score on the MLB app.

For starters, Pablo Lopez looked great. I’m not going make any declarations after one game (trust me, I know better than that) but I think he’ll be a solid component of our rotation this year. My only critique is not directed at Lopez but rather Baldelli. Lopez was dealing and had thrown only 85 pitches. Why yank him in that situation? I love the potential this pitching staff has but it will struggle if the starting pitchers cannot consistently pitch six innings.

On the other hand, the offense scored 2 runs on 9 hits. That is a trend that has been constant throughout the Baldelli-era, and it annoys me to hell and back. If this team is to score more than 3 runs per game in the postseason, they must improve in this regard.

Will this team get better or worse as the season plays out? We all hope the former.

It actually made some sense to pull Pablo Lopez after 5 1/3. Thielbar had started warming up the inning before when Lopez had the bases loaded with 1 out in the 5th inning to face Pasquantino (for the lefty on lefty matchup). We know how much Rocco hates for a guy to warm up but not use him in the game, so when Lopez got out of the jam, it seemed somewhat natural to use Thielbar, especially early in the season where our bullpen is fresh. Also, Lopez was cruising for the first 3 innings but ran into some trouble in both the 4th and 5th innings, so Rocco probably didn't want to test his luck. 

[VivaBomboRivera!]

So, are these the features of the 2023 model?

• Stronger pitching
• Tighter defense
• Tepid hitting

If so, it's hard to argue with today's results. Still, we have to see how this club performs against contending teams.

 

Oh, and another thing - if there must be an "M" on the cap, please restore the 1987 version.  And find an artist that can draw a star.

[ashbury]

That was a triple for Buxton as soon as the ball evaded the fielder's grasp, but I wish he could've slid into the base without that right foot banging down on the basepath a good 4 feet away from the destination.

[LA Vikes Fan]

By the way, it was Larnach who singled in Buxton not Correa. Good pace to the game. Much better on TV. You actually have to focus more, can 't just occasionally look up from your phone. 

[Vanimal46]

The pitch clock is the best rule MLB has implemented in a very long time. This exact game would have been 3 hours 15 min+ last year. 

I’ve got a feeling we’re going to have to win a lot of low scoring ballgames this year… 

[ashbury]

11 minutes ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

By the way, it was Larnach who singled in Buxton not Correa. Good pace to the game. Much better on TV. You actually have to focus more, can 't just occasionally look up from your phone. 

On mlb.tv I am accustomed to using the 10-second replay for interesting plays or pitches I want to review.  I did that a couple of times today and missed the next pitch, which I would have to replay, lather-rinse-repeat.

This is, I hasten to add, a good thing.

[Nine of twelve]

52 minutes ago, Sherry Cerny said:

In a bitter trade...

 

I suppose some people view the trade as bitter, but I certainly don't. To me it was just baseball.

[Danchat]

27 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

The pitch clock is the best rule MLB has implemented in a very long time. This exact game would have been 3 hours 15 min+ last year. 

I’ve got a feeling we’re going to have to win a lot of low scoring ballgames this year… 

Yup, I'm in love with it. No more sitting and waiting around, having less lull keeps my attention - maybe that's a me thing. But I think one day we're going to look back and wonder how we tolerated such slow games.

[Melissa]

Nice first-game summary, Sherry - thank you! All those runners left on base was a little anxiety producing. Might have to get used to it (?).

As you said, Michael A. Taylor looked smooth out there in center.

It was good to see how smoothly Farmer and Solano pinch hit and filled in so seamlessly on the right side of the infield.

But like ashbury suggested, it was way too scary to watch Buxton slide so hard into third. He had the throw beat anyway.

[LastOnePicked]

A crisp shutout road victory? Yes, it's one little game, but this is the kind of thing that could get me on board real quickly for this club. Love it. Happy Opening Day, all.

[LastOnePicked]

Just now, Melissa said:

But like ashbury suggested, it was way too scary to watch Buxton slide so hard into third. He had the throw beat anyway.

Luck has changed for this club. We'll soon find out that the hard leg flop into third actually jostled something back into place for Buxton, and he feels like a million bucks tomorrow.

[mikelink45]

I'm delighted we won, but I also want to be a curmudgeon. We scored two runs against KC. We've got to do better than that. I was really questioning why Kepler is leading off. Did I miss something this just seems like a bad decision. I was glad to see somebody pinch hit for Gallo and get the automatic out off the field.  To balance things out I was also happy to see Arraez get two hits with his new team. He just looks great. I love to see Vasquez get two hits. Other than that it was a perfect opening and gives me great hope for our pitching staff. 

[USAFChief]

1 hour ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

By the way, it was Larnach who singled in Buxton not Correa. 

Nitpic, I suppose, but also the DP induced by Lopez was of the  3-2-4 variety, not 6-3-4. 

[Mike Sixel]

Sigh. One game in, and the complaining is on. I just don't get how that makes one happy. 

Big fan of the Lopez trade . It wasn't bitter for many of us.

[Twins_Fan_For_Life]

Was anybody else waiting to see Pagan come in for save in 9th inning?  Saving him for the Cleveland series, I suppose.  Just kidding!  Let's hear it for our first place Twins!

[purplesoldier4u]

LOB: 12

😢

[Rosterman]

It was a beautiful game. base runners and good piching. Nice plays in the field. 

[stringer bell]

Let's not extrapolate today's game X 162. Somehow, they went 4-11 with runners in scoring position and only scored two runs. There weren't a whole bunch of bad at-bats, but some hard-hit balls went for outs and the hits didn't drive in runs. I'm not going to panic just yet.

Pablo Lopez looked great, but had too many free passes. The Royals lineup isn't really scary, and it appeared he wasn't going to give in to the two guys (Perez and Witt) that were likely to beat him. I would like to see our starters average six innings per start and 5.1 is less, but Rocco didn't stretch his starters as far as other teams have done. I would expect the first trip through the rotation won't see anyone go much more than 80 pitches, maybe they'll be closer to 100 in the next turn.

The defense turned every probable out into an out. The bases were run properly, Tommy Watkins took a chance sending Trevor Larnach in the sixth inning and an off-line throw made it certain he was safe. All in all, very encouraging. 

The Twins are better than the Royals, but the Royals will probably win at least three games against them this year. This is one they shouldn't have won and they didn't. I liked a 2:30 game and hope that continues. 

[jmlease1]

1 hour ago, Mike Sixel said:

Sigh. One game in, and the complaining is on. I just don't get how that makes one happy. 

Big fan of the Lopez trade . It wasn't bitter for many of us.

Some people would rather be angry, I guess. I'm very happy with a win.

Lopez did quite well, he should be pretty fun to watch this season. 

[Eephus]

Pitch clock. Love it but there will be a period of adjustment for the radio listener. I'm used to spacing out for 20 seconds. Love the pace. 

Also Lopez went 5.1 but we still used 4 bullpen guys. Give up 0 runs and use 5 pitchers. 4 pitchers to get 14 outs. This isn't the playoffs. It just seems unsustainable to me. 

 

[Shaitan]

lol at people complaining about short starts on Opening Day.

A lot has changed in baseball, but it's March. Pitchers aren't ramped up yet. And it's been that way for most of my 40+ years on this planet.

[ashbury]

52 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

Some people would rather be angry, I guess.

Who's angry?

It's not as though the Twins won 17-0. There are things to discuss.

[jkcarew]

Pablo cruised.

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, Eephus said:

 

Also Lopez went 5.1 but we still used 4 bullpen guys. Give up 0 runs and use 5 pitchers. 4 pitchers to get 14 outs. This isn't the playoffs. It just seems unsustainable to me. 

 

Well, they have a day off on Friday, so all of the guys in the bullpen will be rested and ready to go on Saturday. I don't know if that figured into the pitching decisions.