Twins 3, Astros 2: Farmer Walks Off the Astros!

Minneapolis - Following a 4-2 opening road trip to Kansas City and Miami, the Twins aimed to regain their winning ways in the 2023 home opener. With the temps hovering in the high 40's, the fans hoped that Sonny Gray could warm up everyone's spirits with another impactful start. The reigning World Series Champion Astros sought to regain some momentum for their 2023 season, after coming to the Twin Cities with a 3-4 record. The Twins would give up the lead in the top of the 10th, only to send the fan faithful home happy with a 3-2 walk-off winner! Here's how it all went down.

Box Score
SP: Sonny Gray: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 K (98 pitches, 61 strikes (62%)
Home Runs:  None
Top 3 WPA: Jose Miranda (0.288), Sonny Gray (0.254), Donovan Solano (.176)

Win Probability Chart

Opening Day!

Before the first pitch, the Twins hosted a morning breakfast at the ballpark, Twins Daily hosted a pregame watch party, and Mother Nature hosted a Sonny Gray, I mean, a sunny day at half the temperature of the last Twins game. The Twins set their lineup to combat Jose Urquidy and his reverse-split arsenal of pitches with more right-handed bats than usual. The usual opening day fanfare set the stage for the main event.

The Astros Strike First
With Max Kepler suffering a knee injury Monday night, the question of "Who will lead off?" continues to vary from game to game, but Byron Buxton got the call again today. The Twins bats again began the game on "silent mode," and they were only able to mount two singles through the first three innings.

The Astros didn't start out any stronger, but they were able to follow up a Mauricio Dubon double with an Alex Bregman single to the wall, to take a 1-0 lead.

Piranha Style Comeback
After wasting a lead-off double from Michael Taylor in the fifth, the Twins struck piranha style in the bottom of the sixth inning. Donovan Solano ripped a single with one out, and advanced to second base on Kyle Farmer's single under the second baseman's glove to right. Nick Gordon came in to pinch hit for Joey Gallo (right-side soreness), and responded by slapping a fielder's choice ground ball to short. The scene was set for Christian Vasquez's hero story, and reliever Bryan Abreu took the opportunity away from him by firing a wild pitch to the backstop. Solano scored, tying the game 1-1. After Vasquez walked, Michael Taylor struck out swinging to end the threat.

Bullpen Time
The end of the game got handed to the bullpen, and Griffin Jax got a chance to avenge his last outing versus the Marlins. Jax responded with a 1-2-3 eighth. Jose Miranda led off the eighth inning with a single but was left at first base. Jhoan Duran took the ninth for the home team for the first time since opening day last week, and his reward was facing Yordan Alvarez, Jose Abreu, and Kyle Tucker. Alvarez walked on a full count, but Duran was able to lock up Abreu on a perfect curveball at the bottom of the zone. Tucker also struck out on 101 high heat, and David Hensley grounded out weakly to end the inning. However, former Twin Ryan Pressly entered the bottom of the ninth and easily shut down the Twins in order.

Extra Baseball! 
In an attempt to give the fans their money's worth, the Twins entered extra innings for the first time this season. Jorge Lopez tried to keep the ghost runner Hensley from scoring, but after getting the lead-off batter, Dubon struck again with a seeing-eye single through the drawn in infield to put the Astros up 2-1. 

The Astros countered with Ryne Stanek, and he promptly struck out Carlos Correa looking on a full count. A passed ball moved Buxton to third base with one out, and Trevor Larnach walked on a full count. Miranda was the next potential hero to come to the plate, and he delivered! His single to right plated Buxton and sent Larnach to second base. An immediate wild pitch by Stanek advanced both runners, and Solano walked after Maldonado saved yet another wayward pitch.

This all led to the new Twin Farmer, in his first home game, to come up with the bases loaded and only one out. Twins fans were able to go home happy today, as he delivered with a base hit up the middle to score Larnach for the winning run!

Final Thoughts
Twins fans packed Target Field in hopes of righting the ship, and starting a new narrative against elite-level ballclubs. Sonny Gray led the way with a career-high performance, but the Twins bats again couldn't keep pace throughout the game. Luckily, the Astros bullpen ran out of steam before the Twins bullpen did, and single after single brought home the opening day victory!

What’s Next? 
The Twins will attempt to keep the momentum going by sending to the mound Joe Ryan in Game 2 of the series (1-0, 1.50 ERA) on Saturday afternoon. The team will face Astros right-hander Luis Garcia (0-1, 5.40 ERA). The game is scheduled for 1:10 pm CDT.  

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage