Twins 7, Royals 4: Twins Complete First Opening Series Sweep Since 2017

[Theodore Tollefson]

The first series of the season concluded with a Twins win on Sunday and their first Opening Series sweep to start a season since 2017. 

Image courtesy of Peter Aiken, USA Today

Box Score
SP: Joe Ryan 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (80 pitches, 52 strikes (65 strike %))
Home Runs: Joey Gallo 2 (2) 
Top 3 WPA: Joe Ryan .259, Joey Gallo .205, Ryan Jeffers .200

Win Probability Chart 

The Twins concluded their first series of the season in Kansas City looking for a sweep over their division foe. With Joe Ryan tossing six strong innings, and Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers, Trevor Larnach, and Joey Gallo having multi-hit games, the Twins were able to complete the sweep. 

Shutout Streak Ends, but Ryan has Quality Start 
Ryan’s season debut for the 2023 Twins got off to a very good start as he threw his fastest recorded pitch in the big leagues, a 96 mph fastball against Bobby Witt Jr in the top of the first. 

The downside of Ryan’s start was the end of the Twins' scoreless inning streak to start the season, ending at 19 2/3 innings. The home run from Edward Olivares tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the second. 

Ryan got into another jam in the bottom of the third with runners on second and third, but he escaped on a groundout by Vinnie Pasquantino. Ryan dominated the rest of the way, retiring nine of the last 10 hitters he faced with Salvador Perez being the only hitter to get the better of him with a double and a walk in Ryan’s last three innings of work. 

Ryan’s career totals against the Kansas City Royals now include a 1.20 ERA in 30 innings of work across five starts. 

Jeffers, Gallo Keep Bats Hot for Twins Lineup
Ryan Jeffers made his debut for the 2023 season as well on Sunday and showed himself to be a completely different hitter from last year. Jeffers drove in the Twins' first two runs of the game, both on RBI singles, and made it the first time ever for Twins catchers to have multi-hit games in all three games to start a season. 

Joey Gallo’s bat also came alive Sunday afternoon. He started the game by going 2-for-3 with a double and the Twins' first home run of the season. His homer came off of fellow Henderson, Nevada native and left-handed pitcher, Amir Garrett, and was pulled straight away to right field landing 431 feet from the plate. 

Gallo figured one home run wasn’t enough and in his next at-bat hit a three-run home run off of Dylan Coleman to extend the Twins' lead to 6-1 in the top of the seventh inning. This was also Gallo’s third multi-home run game against the Royals in his career, the last coming on June 26, 2021, in an 8-0 victory by the Rangers. 

Other Notes
Buxton went 2-4 with a walk in Sunday’s game and made it the first time in his career he has ever started a season with three straight multi-hit games as well. 

Larnach added on the Twins' final run of the game and had his first three-hit game in the big leagues since May 29, 2022, which was also against the Royals. 

Emilio Pagan came in for the ninth and made the end results more dramatic as he usually does. However, he recorded the final three outs to finish the victory. 

The sweep over their Royals brings the Twins' record to 3-0 and is their first 3-0 start to a season since 2017 when the Twins swept the Royals at Target Field in another three-game series. 

What’s Next? 
Twins head south to Miami for the second series of the season, reuniting with Luis Arraez and playing the Marlins on the road for the first time since 2019. Tyler Mahle will be on the mound for the Twins against Johnny Cueto for the Marlins. 

Postgame Interviews 

 

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[KirbyDome89]

Fitting that KC was 0-infinity with RISP through 3 games and the streak was snapped 2 batters into Pagan's 9th inning appearance. 

[Doctor Gast]

Happy that Gallo has finally woke up his bat but Kepler's is still sleeping. Great to sweep KC & be in 1st. But CLE has played SEA tough, we'll have our hands full.

[farmerguychris]

Glad to see Joey catch a couple!  Sorry to see Pagan appears to be the same Pagan we thought he was, even in low leverage this time 🤐

[wsnydes]

Nice to see the bats get going.  Ryan had a nice outing as well.  Always nice to start the season with a sweep!

[Dman]

It might be SSS but I am going to eat crow anyway (hopefully BBQ sauce will make it taste better). Watching Gallo this spring it sure didn't look like much had changed from last year.  He seemed to have trouble getting to balls in the lower part of the zone and he wasn't making much contact.  He wasn't looking much better the first two games against the Royals either.  Today I got see what I assume the Twins saw when they worked to sign Gallo.  A double and two HR;s  with 4 RBI's he almost single handedly won this games for them on offense.  Still a lot of season left and one good day against a not very good team doesn't mean too much, but it does\did show the impact he can have on a ball game.  I hope this is the first of many good days for Joey Gallo.

Ryan pitched well his first time out. He did give up some really hard contact on some balls but only one made it out of the park.  The strike zone was a bit mysterious at times for both clubs but he got through it and even made it 6 innings.

Moran had the same old issues with control and for once it bit him giving up the 2 run HR.  Walks can kill you and he walked a guy who generally can't buy a hit.  Can't do that and get away with it all the time.  Gotta execute there.  Hopefully a lesson learned in a game that had some leeway. 

Pagan still scares the hell out of me.  Why they didn't trade him if they had decent offers I do not know.  Needing Jax to warmup after giving up back to back hits show just how much they don't trust him either.  He only gave up the one run but if KC would have come back I think we all would have lost our minds.

They got the sweep but with Cleveland taking it to the Mariners and the White Sox splitting with Houston I am not sure the sweep means as much.  Looking like a three team race early but lot's of games left in this marathon baseball season. Hope the Twins can keep finding ways to win games.

[PDX Twin]

I'm withholding judgment until the Twins play a major-league opponent. The Royals look like they could lose 120 this year.

[mikelink45]

A sweep is great. I am anxious to see us against better teams.  We owned KC last year and it looks like that will continue for 23.  I know I am a wet blanket for a 3 - 0 team, but KC and the Tigers are not good measuring sticks.  The good news is that we should beat them and we did. 

[Linus]

Couple of positive signs: Buck is hitting the ball hard without being in severe pull mode. Larnach also looks good at the plate. Not chasing and then putting good swings on the ball when they come to him. One subtle thing is that Jax had to get warm in a hurry when Pagan started doing his thing. Might not be available tomorrow. 

[jkcarew]

With the new schedules this year we play KC 6 fewer times than in the past (13 vs 19)...so a total of 12 fewer games against KC and Detroit.

Of course, Chicago and Cleveland get 12 fewer games against them as well. And, both Chi and Cle played good teams tough on the road to open the season.

[LewFordLives]

Interesting bullpen usage today. Is something wrong with Duran? He looked fine on Thursday, but Rocco goes with Lopez for the third day in a row and then Pagan for the ninth.

[Robert Floren]

Watching Twins on MLB.tv on computer.  Wish I could be there for home opener but it's 1200 miles away.  I'm a MN native. Had a left side front row seat right near Lenny Green in 1962 or so, long time ago in the original Met.

[jkcarew]

8 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

Interesting bullpen usage today. Is something wrong with Duran? He looked fine on Thursday, but Rocco goes with Lopez for the third day in a row and then Pagan for the ninth.

I'm guessing since it was a 4-run game going into the ninth, Rocco wanted to hold off on Duran...as Monday is not an off-day. Still, I did think it slightly odd that Duran didn't see action on Saturday...and also, find it interesting that Rocco still trusts Pagan in the 9th inning of a 4-run game.

[Schmoeman5]

2 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

I'm guessing since it was a 4-run game going into the ninth, Rocco wanted to hold off on Duran...as Monday is not an off-day. Still, I did think it slightly odd that Duran didn't see action on Saturday...and also, find it interesting that Rocco still trusts Pagan in the 9th inning of a 4-run game.

According to reports, Duran woke up on Saturday with a neck kink. So they were holding him out yesterday and today.

[Seth Stohs]

15 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

Interesting bullpen usage today. Is something wrong with Duran? He looked fine on Thursday, but Rocco goes with Lopez for the third day in a row and then Pagan for the ninth.

On the telecast today, they mentioned that yesterday (Saturday) Duran wasn't available because he somehow slept awkwardly on his shoulder/neck and was all discombobulated (wow, I assumed that would be spelled wrong). So I'm assuming today they preferred not to use him... But getting that fourth run in the top of the inning helped. 

Also, Lopez has pitched an inning in all three games (well, 2/3 of an inning in one), and he's throw a total of 24 pitches. That's insanely efficient. 

[GKuehl]

Sands continues to feel like a waste of a roster spot. I don’t think there will be many games where we need a reliever to pitch 3+ innings, especially considering the depth of this starting staff. 

[darwin22]

51 minutes ago, LewFordLives said:

Interesting bullpen usage today. Is something wrong with Duran? He looked fine on Thursday, but Rocco goes with Lopez for the third day in a row and then Pagan for the ninth.

I wasn't surprised to see Lopez get the 8th inning as he only needed 8 pitches yesterday to lock down the 9th inning.  I was pretty certain that neither Jax nor Thielbar would get called on.  What shouldn't be surprising was Rocco going to Pagan in the 9th.  The time has long passed to have to spoon feed Pagan's confidence level.  It took Pagan only 4 pitches to serve up a ringing double and a scorched line drive for a single to force Rocco to get Jax warming up.  Pagan did recover, but luckily it was the Royals at the bottom of their lineup.  Hopefully, somebody in SP bullpen will pitch well enough over the next month to force a roster move resulting in Pagan getting dfa'ed.  

[darwin22]

Count me in the minority here----thats fine, but if, as fans, we're going to be forced into watching Max Kepler's continued ineptitude at the plate----can we at LEAST see him moved down to the bottom third of the batting order?

Kepler is 0-13.  This is not a knee-jerk reaction to three bad games.  His hitting woes have been well documented over the past two years.  

I realize Kepler is not the only regular not hitting (Correa 2-13, Miranda 2-11 as well as others), but a move down in the lineup MIGHT get him going.  

If this team has aspirations of playing meaningful games in September, how long is the leash for Kepler being our everyday RF?

 

[LewFordLives]

1 hour ago, Seth Stohs said:

On the telecast today, they mentioned that yesterday (Saturday) Duran wasn't available because he somehow slept awkwardly on his shoulder/neck and was all discombobulated (wow, I assumed that would be spelled wrong).

Thx. I'm not in market so we had the Royals television feed. Ryan Lefebvre didn't mention it.

[stringer bell]

9 minutes ago, darwin22 said:

I realize Kepler is not the only regular not hitting (Correa 2-13, Miranda 2-11 as well as others), but a move down in the lineup MIGHT get him going.  

If this team has aspirations of playing meaningful games in September, how long is the leash for Kepler being our everyday RF?

 

More than three games. Less than all of April. Kepler didn’t look good, but he did swing pretty well previously. I like Gallo further down the order and probably the only other option (Gordon) was hitless too. 

[jimbo92107]

1 hour ago, GKuehl said:

Sands continues to feel like a waste of a roster spot. I don’t think there will be many games where we need a reliever to pitch 3+ innings, especially considering the depth of this starting staff. 

What a good problem to have.

The other good problem is this starting rotation. Very stingy so far, although only Ryan has completed 6. We'll see how that goes with Mahle, who might get there, and then Maeda, whose pitch limit is probably too low to get there. Rocco wouldn't let him go more than about 60 pitches first time out, would he? I'm just hoping Maeda has decent command, so he can go at least four. Then...bring in Sands, heh-heh!

 

[FlyingFinn]

2 hours ago, GKuehl said:

Sands continues to feel like a waste of a roster spot.

No, that is exactly why he is on the roster. Ober is better but they can't have him sitting on the bench for an extended length of time. Sands will eventually pitch when a starter goes out early or there is a serious blowout. If he pitches too many innings, they will then send him down and call up someone else for the long relief role.

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, jimbo92107 said:

What a good problem to have.

The other good problem is this starting rotation. Very stingy so far, although only Ryan has completed 6. We'll see how that goes with Mahle, who might get there, and then Maeda, whose pitch limit is probably too low to get there. Rocco wouldn't let him go more than about 60 pitches first time out, would he? I'm just hoping Maeda has decent command, so he can go at least four. Then...bring in Sands, heh-heh!

 

Maeda threw over 75 pitches both of his last two Spring Training outings. Rocco probably won’t extend him much beyond 80 pitches. He probably won’t go six because he won’t be that efficient, He is as stretched out as any starter on the staff. 

[Jocko87]

Larnach looks really good, and very athletic for a big dude.  His health might be one of the under-rated keys for the lineup.  As nice as it was to see Gallo get ahold of a couple Larnach is a more complete hitter for higher up in the lineup L/R splits.  Solid swings all weekend.

[jmlease1]

I know it's only one appearance and one inning, but oooof, Pagan. There's a legion of fans who have wanted him gone from the jump and he's doing nothing to sell anyone on the idea that he's somehow been fixed.

Good to see Gallo get it going. He's likely to be a boom or bust player all year, but maybe he'll have enough games like this. Larnach has been playing very well and it's nice to see. I hope he stays healthy.

I know some may be "meh, who cares it's just sorry, no-account KC" but a sweep is a sweep, especially on the road. It's a fine way to start the season. Hopefully we can keep it going and win the series in Miami. Coming home at 5-1 would be awesome.

[ashbury]

Note to Rocco: use Pagan before the ninth inning, even when you anticipate the ninth to be low-leverage.  That way, if his usual antics occur and you have to warm someone up, it can be one you were presumably going to use anyway in an inning or so.

[rv78]

Bats break loose finally. All or nothing Gallo gets the point for the Game 3 victory on the offensive side of the ball. Ryan gets it for the pitching. 

Kepler/Gallo HITL watch thru 3 games: .130-BA, 2-HR, 4-RBI, 6-K's, 2-BB, 13-LOB. 

Off to Miami to see Arraez torment the Twins pitchers.

[stringer bell]

6 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

Our catchers are hitting .500,  Even in this SSS I never would have guessed.

I think Vázquez has as many hits as he had through ST. Just shows how much value those numbers have. 
 

On another catching note, the young speedy Royals stole 0 bases on Vázquez or Jeffers. Probably the two biggest deterrents to a running game are not getting on base and being behind on the scoreboard. 

[Karbo]

12 hours ago, stringer bell said:

More than three games. Less than all of April. Kepler didn’t look good, but he did swing pretty well previously. I like Gallo further down the order and probably the only other option (Gordon) was hitless too. 

I would move Buxton to leadoff, move Larnach to 3, Miranda to 4. Drop Kep down to 7-9 somewhere.

[Peter]

Gallo comes up huge with 2 hrs!!! First 3-0 since 2017!!  Pitch has been outstanding!!! Tough week of games this week/I’ll take 3-3,4-2 go twins!!!