Sherry Cerny

Joey Gallo played for the Saints. Wichita powered their way to a win. Cedar Rapids' comeback came up short. The Mighty Mussels got a great start. Several 2022 draft picks compiled firsts. There were some good starts, lots of homers and much more. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor leagues on Friday night. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Jorel Ortega), Ed Bailey (Travis Adams) TRANSACTIONS 1B/OF Joey Gallo was added to the Saints roster on major-league rehab assignment (right intercostal strain). RHP Cole Sands was optioned from Minnesota Twins to St. Paul Saints. RHP Louie Varland was recalled by the Minnesota Twins. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 2 Box Score Twins fans who watched the Saints got the opportunity to watch major leaguer Joey Gallo play during a rehab assignment. He batted second and played first base for the first seven innings. He went 1-for-3 with a double off the wall in his first at-bat. However, there was not much on-base action due to the impressive mound work by both teams. Aaron Sanchez started and almost inexplicably tossed five scoreless innings despite allowing six hits and three walks. He received a lot of help from his infield which turned three double plays behind him. Indianapolis shuffled quickly through their pitching staff, reaching into the bullpen early, but managed to keep the Saints bats quiet through seven innings. The Saints kept a steady rotation of players on base in the top of the eighth inning which started with two walks, and ended with three runs on the board. The first came when Chris Williams was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Andrew Stevenson added a two-run single. Just for good measure, the Saints added an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning on a Mark Contreras double. The Saints pitching was outstanding. The bullpen was nearly flawless. Cody Laweryson tossed two scoreless innings, and Patrick Murphy pitched a scoreless eighth frame. Brock Stewart gave up two runs but recorded the final three outs to lock down a Saints win. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 7, NW Arkansas 4 Box Score With an ominous forecast which caused the Wind Surge to postpone their post-game fireworks show, the game started on time. In the bottom of the first, Yoyner Fajardo provided some fireworks with a lead off homer to give Wichita a 1-0 lead. It was a sign of things to come. Travis Adams made his second Double-A start on Friday night. He was unable to complete the first inning in his first start, but he was much better in start number two. He completed five innings and gave up two runs on two hits (both solo homers). He struck out seven batters without issuing a walk. The Surge put distance between themselves and the Naturals in the third inning. Two home runs from Jake Rucker and Yunior Severino with players on base, pushed the Surge ahead 5-1. Alex Isola added his second homer of the season in the fifth inning to give them a 7-2 lead. Right-hander Jose Bravo replaced Adams and gave up one run on two hits over 2 2/3 innings. Lefty Kody Funderburk came on and got a strikeout to end the eighth inning. He gave up a run in the ninth, but added two more strikeouts to finish the game. Fajardo went 2-for-5 with a double and a homer. DaShawn Keirsey went 2-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Yunior Severino went 2-for-4 with a double and homer. Kernel Nuggets Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 6 Box Score The Quad City River Bandits scored a run in the first inning, but the Kernels answered in the second inning, tying up the game 1-1 where it stayed until both teams got busy in the fifth inning scoring three runs a piece, tying up the game again. Jordan Carr started the game on the mound and provided a solid four innings. He was charged with one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out four batters. Malik Barrington came in and allowed three earned runs to give the River Bandits the lead in the fifth inning. The lead did not last long. In the bottom of the inning, the Kernels answered in like with three runs of their own, to tie up the score. Emmanuel Rodriguez drove in one with a double. Ben Ross and Kala’i Rosario drove in the other runs. Unfortunately, in the top of the seventh, Matt Mullenbach gave up a two run homer to put the Kernels behind 7-5. John Stankiewicz got the final seven outs for Cedar Rapids. Ben Ross, Noah Cardenas and Willie Joe Garry each had two hits. Garry had a double. Mussels Matters Fort Myers 5, Clearwater 1 Box Score The Mussels started the game off with a bang. Jorel Ortega led off the first with his first professional home run on the second pitch of the game off Clearwater’s Alex McFarlane. The Mussels were aggressive on the base paths throughout the game. In the fourth inning, Mikey Perez, who led the organization with 48 stolen bases a year ago, was hit by a pitch, then stole second and third and scored when Dalton Shuffield hit a line-drive single to right field. Cory Lewis, the Twins ninth-round pick a year ago out of UC-Santa Barbara, made his second start of the season on Friday night. In his first start, he gave up four runs on six hits, two walks and a hit batter over 4 1/3 innings. He was much better in this game. He didn’t give up a hit until the fourth. Overall, he gave up one run on two hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out eight batters. The Mussels bats broke out with a three-run seventh inning. The scoring started with an Ortega line-drive single with the bases loaded which scored Maddux Houghton. That was followed by a walk by minor-league Rule 5 draft pick Yohander Martinez that scored Dalton Shuffield. Finally, Carlos Aguiar drove in Alec Sayre with a sacrifice fly. The Mussels now had a 5-1 lead going into the 7th inning stretch and maintained the lead to end the game. Hard-throwing Juan Mendez came on and gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. Gabriel Yanez struck out the side in the eighth inning. He then struck out one more in a perfect ninth inning. Ortega, Martinez and Shuffield each had two hits in the game. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Sanchez (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K Hitter of the Day – DaShawn Kiersey, Jr. (Wichita) - 2-for-3, 2 R, 1K, 2 SB. PROSPECT SUMMARY The Twins Prospect Tracker is the best way to see how each of the Twins top prospects performed during their games; but in case you wanted a quick look, Here is how each of the top 20 performed today: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - Did Not Play #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - Injured List #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, 2B(1), R, RBI, 3 K #4 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #5 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-3, K #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #7 - Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, RBI, SB (3) #9 - Louie Varland (Minnesota) - 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (3 HR) #10 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - Injured List #11 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-0 (defensive replacement in 9th) #12 - Yasser Mercedes (Extended Spring Training) - #13 - David Festa (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not play. #15 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - Injured List #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch. #17 - Ronny Henriquez (Minnesota) - Injured List #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, R, K #19 - Jose Rodriguez (Extended Spring Training) - #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Play. SATURDAY SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Indianapolis (5:35PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-1, 4.91) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (2:05PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek (first start) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05PM CST) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo (first start) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30PM CST) - RHP Jose Oliveros (first start) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss today’s game! View full article

yeah. meant at home. fixed it!

This is exactly how I feel. I was literally going into this article not even thinking it would be an issue, but now after a deep dive...I can really see that if we don't keep it together, it could be an issue.

same!!

I know....and Cease is either REALLY good or really bad....

LOL, I meant at home. People really hung up on that, instead of the lack of bats going - I love this, because clearly I forgot the Royals. LOL Thank you for making me laugh.

Teaser: How will the Twins fare versus their first interdivisional foe? Image courtesy of Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports The Twins had an outstanding home opener and series win against the World Series Champions Houston Astros. The Twins pitching, specifically Sonny Gray, boosted the confidence of all the fans in this home series by commanding the mound and giving life to the game to carry the team through. The White Sox come to town tomorrow, the first divisional series of the season, and while the series against Houston showed how capable the Twins can be, divisional play is a whole new ball game. The Twins (barely) won the season series last season with the White Sox winning 10-of-19 games. The Twins and White Sox have always had a contentious relationship, mainly because the two teams volley for divisional position throughout most seasons. This can create a lot of tension and high emotion, especially recently after the White Sox passed the Twins in September, only to also concede the division race to the Guardians. The White Sox are 4-6, and 3-4 on the road. They also enter the series with relatively hot bats after facing the Pirates. They scored 20 runs in the first two games of that series, but were shutout in the season finale. Fun Fact: The first time the Twins and White Sox competeed for a title was 1965 when the teams finished first and second, respectively, in the American League. In 1969, the league underwent realignment and both franchises were placed in the AL West. The apex of this rivalry came in 2008 when, after 162 games, the two franchises both finished with 88–74 records tied atop the AL Central, Game 163 was needed to break the tie.. The White Sox won the game 1–0 due to a 7th-inning solo home run from Jim Thome, who later played for Minnesota. Weather Factor: The bats aren’t the only thing hoping to heat up in Minnesota. Monday and Tuesday’s games there will be a little cloud cover during the day, but still perfect baseball weather, with the best day being Wednesday with the potential for 81 degrees at game time. Beautiful clear weather, low winds, and the rain staying away should make for perfect playing conditions. Pitching Probables Game 1 – Monday, April 10th, 2023 – 1:10pm CDT – Right-handers Kenta Maeda (Twins) and Dylan Cease (White Sox) will square off in the opener. Cease, undoubtedly the best pitcher for the White Sox, will be coming in with one win and a 1.59 ERA. Maeda, who had a no-decision in his return to the Twins rotation, had a 1.80 ERA and an outstanding 0.60 WHIP with nine strikeouts in his first outing. Game 2 – Tuesday, April 11th, 2023 – 6:40pm CDT – Right-handers Pablo Lopez (Twins) and Lance Lynn (White Sox) take the mound in an evening game where the temperature is expected to be sitting in the low 60’s with clear skies and low winds. Lopez has been a bright spot in the Twins rotation and brings a 1-0 start and a 0.73 ERA and matching 0.73 WHIP into the matchup. Lynn has struggled in his first two starts of the season, giving up 10 runs in 10 innings, but the 35-year-old posted a 3.82 ERA last year. This will be the first time Lopez will have every faced the White Sox. The Twins will catch a break in that the White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez will miss the series with a strained hamstring. However, that just means that Yoan Moncada has been moved up a spot into the cleanup position. He’s hitting .308 with an 889 OPS. Game 3 - Wednesday, April 12th, 2023 – 12:10pm CDT - Right-hander Sonny Gray (Twins) faces off with yet another right-hander, Lucas Giolito (White Sox). Gray comes in at 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA after defeating Houston with his career-high 13 K’s in his last game, while Giolito has two no-decisions against the Astros and Pirates in his first two games, allowing nine runs over nine innings. The Twins hitters are no strangers to Giolito. They split with him last year, but the Twins offense had just a 574 OPS against him in those four games. They’ll also be missing several of their better left-handed (Max Kepler and Joey Gallo) and switch-hitting (Jorge Polanco) batters versus the right-hander. Prediction Time! What's your prediction for this series? Get out the brooms, or something in between? Who do you think can catch fire in the Twins line-up? Will the Twins starters continue their dominant ways? Let's go Twins Territory! View full article

Absolutely!!! It’s been fun to do them and I also am learning a lot!

That is AWESOME!!!!!!!!! I love that!

I *absolutely* loved doing this! 1. I learn SO much, 2. I feel like I know the club better, 3. I love being able to talk to other awesome people about it! Thank you for reading! I’m super stoked about Varland, Wallner and Garlick! It was AWESOME to watch in real time, bouncing back and forth. Haha

The Twins and their affiliates have all had the chance to start their seasons. The Twins had a great home opener with Kyle Farmer providing a walk-off against the Houston Astros. The affiliates continued to carry the torch into the evening, and with every team winning their game, it was a great day for Twins baseball! Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions! TRANSACTIONS RHP Patrick Murphy activated from the Development List RHP Josh Winder has been assigned to Low-A Fort Myers on MLB Rehab. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 6, Iowa 2 Box Score Louis Varland had a phenomenal first game of his season. He threw five innings and allowed only one run, one walk, and he struck out nine batters. Jordan Balazovic, Trevor Megill and Brock Stewart each recorded four outs. Balazovic made his first appearance of the year. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks. Megill walked two. Stewart recorded his first save which gave Varland his first win of the season. Kyle Garlick is the top story today for the St. Paul Saints. The outfielder has been driving in the runs early in the season and Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner setting the table for the middle of the lineup, specifically Tyler White and Mark Contreras to drive them in. Hernan Perez gave the Saints a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning with a solo home run. Mark Contreras came up big in the bottom of the sixth inning. With Garlick and Julien on second and third, he drove them home with a two-run home run which gave the Saints a 5-1 lead. The Saints had just four hits and six walks. Julien had one of the hits and walked twice. Garlick and Contreras each drove in two runs. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, Springfield 0 Box Score This was a battle of the pitchers for most of the game. In the third inning, Twins top prospect Brooks Lee and Yunior Severino got on base. Catcher Alex Isola drove in Lee with a double and first baseman Aaron Sabato followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Severino. The Wind Surge had a 2-0 lead, and that was it for run scoring. As you would expect, this game finished in just two hours and five minutes. In his first Double-A start, David Festa pitched a clean, scoreless five innings. He gave up only one hit and struck out eight batters. Hunter McMahon came on and struck out three batters over two perfect innings. Jordan Brink worked a hitless eighth from, and Michael Boyle he save with a hitless ninth frame. The Wind Surge had seven hits. Isola and Yoyner Fajardo were both 2-for-4 in the games. Kernel Nuggets Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 4 (10 innings) Box Score The Cedar Rapids Kernels kept the baseball night alive for the Twins affiliates. The Kernels needed 10 innings to beat the Peoria Chiefs. In the third inning, the Kernels got on the board first with a three-run home run from Tanner Schobel off of Cooper Hjerpe. Kyle Jones started for Cedar Rapids. The 2022 draft pick went five innings without giving up a run. However, he was charged with three runs in the sixth inning. In 5 1/3 innings, he gave up six hits. He struck out six batters without giving up a walk. Matt Mullenbach struck out two batters without giving up a run, though one of two inherited runners scored. Matt Swain got the eighth inning. He walked three batters but gave up a run on a sacrifice fly which put the Kernels down 4-3. In the top of the ninth inning. Keoni Cavaco and Kyler Fedko got things started with singles. Charles Mack laid down a sacrifice bunt and the bases were loaded because of an error. After a strikeout, Emmanuel Rodriguez drove in pinch-runner Willy Joe Garry with the game-tying run. Regi Grace pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Misael Urbina began the top of the 10th as the Manfred Man on second base. Kala'i Rosario singled to score Urbina. Unfortunately, that was the only run they scored. Fortunately, Regi Grace remained in and kept Peoria off the scoreboard to give the Kernels the win. Rosario led the way. He went 2-for-4 with a walk. Noah Miller went 2-for-5. Fedko went 1-for-2 with two walks. Muscle Matters Dunedin 3, Fort Myers 4 Box Score Through four innings, the Mussels held a 4-3 lead. Fortunately, that was a lead they kept the remainder of the game. The game was tied in the third when Alec Sayre got out on a sacrifice fly to score Rubel Cespedes, advancing Mikey Perez to third. Dylan Nuese drew a walk. With men on the corners, and then stole second while Dunedin catcher Sammy Hernandez threw to third base to try and catch Mikey Perez. Perez saw an opportunity and took off, stole home and gave the Mussels a 3-1 lead. Designated Hitter, Andrew Cossetti got his first professional hit during the game, which secured the lead for the Mussels when he hit a line-drive to right center-field to give the Mussels a 4-1 lead. Starting pitcher, Andrew Morris threw 4 1/3i innings, striking out seven batters but gave up the only three earned runs of the game before getting pulled in the fourth inning. The bullpen really shone through to carry the rest of the game. The Blue Jays attempted to catch up to the Mussels, but the bullpen kept that from happening, shutting out the Jays the rest of the game. Twins bullpen pitcher Josh Winder joined the Mussels on a rehab assignment and threw two innings, giving up two hits, He walked two and struck out three batters.. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – David Festa (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR (1), 2 BB, K PROSPECT SUMMARY The Twins Prospect Tracker is the best way to see how each of the Twins top prospects performed during their games; but in case you wanted a quick look, Here is how each of the top 20 performed today: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 1 R, BB, K #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, RBI, SF, 2 K #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 1 R, BB, K #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-5, 2 K #9 - Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 1 R, BB, K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R, K #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, HR, R 3 RBI, 2 K #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, R, 2 BB, K UPCOMING SATURDAY SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES: Iowa @ St. Paul (DH at 1:00) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (0-0, 2.70); GAME 2 - RHP Randy Dobnak (0-0, 1.93) Wichita @ Springfield (6:00PM CST) - RHP - Travis Adams, (0-0, 0.00) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35PM CST) - LHP Connor Prielipp (professional debut) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (0-0,0.00) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss today’s game! 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I can't respond to ALL 84 comments!! wowza!!! Thanks ya'll for tuning and responding! SO many things to be excited about this season!!

The Twins had a great start to their season yesterday beating the Royals 2-0, and now it’s time for the Saints to take over. The other full-season affiliates have to wait until next Thursday to start their seasons. So like the game with the time clock, this report will be short and sweet. Image courtesy of Sean Aronson Happy Triple-A Opening Day! The Twins have the day off on Friday. The Saints are playing their opener in Toledo, a three-game series. They will return to CHS Field to start their home schedule on Tuesday when Louie Varland takes on the Iowa Cubs. Next Thursday, the Wichita Wind Surge, Cedar Rapids Kernels, and Fort Myers Mighty Mussels will start their seasons. Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Saints officially announced their Opening Day roster on Friday morning. Check it out here. Utilitymen Michael Helman and Austin Martin are beginning the season on the Saints Injured List. Pitcher Patrick Murphy and catcher David Banuelos are on the Development List. Saints Sentinal St. Paul 4, Toledo 7 Box Score Bailey Ober started the game and the season for the Saints on the road against Toledo. Ober struggled early, giving up a run on two hits in the first inning. His day ended after just three innings pitched. He worked out of a jam in the 2nd inning but then gave up two more runs in the third inning. More importantly, he needed 32 pitches to get through that inning. The right-hander gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits and a walk. He also struck out four batters. WBC hero Jose De Leon came on in relief of Ober to start the fourth inning. He was efficient and kept the Mudhens at three runs through the sixth inning. In the bottom of the seventh frame, he gave up a bloop single, got a strikeout and issued a walk. Cody Laweryson came in for his first Triple-A appearance, a tough spot with two runners on base and trying to keep the Saints within striking distance. He started well, getting Tigers prospect Parker Meadows to strike out for the second out. Unfortunately, Andy Ibanez came to the plate and launched a three-run homer, expanding the Mudhens lead to 6-1. Four batters later, Toledo had two more hits, a walk and another run. So De Leon’s final line doesn’t necessarily tell the story of how he pitched. He was ultimately charged with two runs on three hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. 27 of his 46 pitches were strikes (59%). Laweryson’s line? He recorded two outs, both on strikeouts. However, two of two inherited runners scored, and he then gave up two more runs on three hits and a walk. The Saints offense struggled. Toledo kept the Saints from earning not only runs early in the game, but only allowed four hits through the seventh inning. Their first base runner came in the second inning when newly-acquired outfielder Andrew Stevenson walked. An inning later, Matt Wallner blooped a single to left, just beyond the reach of #OldFriend Akil Baddoo for the Saints’ first hit of the season. In the fifth inning, veteran Hernan Perez had an infield single that could (maybe should) have been ruled an error. In his third at-bat, Edouard Julien got the Saints on the board. He hit a solo home run into left center, getting the Saints on the board. Along with some pitching struggles, and hitting struggles, the Saints also committed three errors on defense. However, there was a highlight-reel throw from center fielder Mark Contreras. With speedy veteran Jonathan Davis on second base, Akil Baddoo hit a fly ball to center field, just shy of the warning track. Contreras played it perfectly, got behind the ball, caught it, and made a strong throw to Andrew Bechtold at third base to get Davis on a close play. Kyle Garlick and the Saints came into the top of the ninth inning battling back. Garlick hit a solo home run to get the Saints another run on the board. Contreras followed suit with a single and getting more runners in scoring position. Jair Carmago doubled on a sharp fly ball to score Contreras with only one out. The Saints continued to stay alive bringing home Andrew Stevenson on a ground out from Hernan Perez getting three more runs before Bechtold struck out to end the game. The Saint's battled hard at the end, but it wasn't enough. Tomorrow is another day... TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jose De Leon (St. Paul) - 3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K Hitter of the Day – Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (1), K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Sunday. #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR (1), K #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 3 K UPCOMING SCHEDULE Saturday: St. Paul @ Toledo (3:10 PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Sunday: St. Paul @ Toledo (1:10 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss today’s game! View full article

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 View full article

I absolutely LOVED this article. I for one was not in the “Correa is outstanding” camp, so the analysis and outlook here makes all the sense in the world for third base. I’m really hoping AK stays healthy so we can truly is him and see him grow. Loved this article, great read!

It has been four weeks since the Twins traded an impact player in 2022, Gio Urshela, to the Los Angeles Angels for a pitching prospect, Alejandro Hidalgo. Now, the Twins front office has brought in free agent Joey Gallo, another outfielder and lefty when they already have several. Image courtesy of Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports Getting rid of Gio Urshela was the let-down of the off-season for me. Urshela came in quietly, didn’t say much, but he let his defense and at-bats speak for themselves. He quickly became a fan favorite and had the whole stadium singing his walk up song’s chorus, “Take this world and give me GIO” with every at-bat. While Urshela had one more year of arbitration remaining, he was due for a big raise and earned it. Urshela hit .285/.338/.429 with 27 doubles and 13 home runs, Two of those homers were walk-offs. The Twins wanted to make as much room as they could to contend for shortstop, Carlos Correa, who ultimately went to the Giants. Urshela’s absence will give Jose Miranda a well-deserved opportunity at third base. So the trade is not illogical. However, when Correa signed with the Giants, it made the Gio trade extremely frustrating; but now, the trade is frustrating and perplexing. On Friday, the Twins signed Joey Gallo to a one year, $11 million contract. Why would the Twins get rid of a steady contributor to the lineup and defense only to bring in a player who really struggled with the bat in 2022? Urshela may have saved them a few bucks in the chase for Correa, but he would have been the better investment. Gallo certainly has talent, but he also spent 2022 between the Yankees and the Dodgers with a mortifyingly low batting average of .162 for the season. When he does hit the ball, he has power and sits in the 94th percentile for hard hit balls. If he is unable to produce at the plate, he can still provide value with his defensive play. Seeing Double More than likely Gallo would play one of the corners of the outfield positions alongside Byron Buxton, but if there is one thing the Twins already have - it’s a lot of left-handed hitting outfielders including Nick Gordon, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, Mark Contreras, and Matt Wallner The Twins also currently have another outfielder who plays good defense but finds his batting average near the Mendoza Line. Max Kepler has been the subject of trade rumors during the offseason. Kepler struggled with the bat but was a finalist for AL Gold Glove in right field in 2022, a far cry from his breakout 2019 season. Kepler, like most of the 2022 roster, fought injuries and missed most of the season's final month. Both Gallo and Kepler are often mentioned as it relates to the new shift rules coming in 2023. There is some thought that those two hitters in particular lost hits because of the shifting tendencies. Will it help? Can both be on the same roster? More potential crazy trade options It is possible that Gallo may be a replacement for Kepler if he is traded this offseason. Another option is making one the primary DH, though it is likely Luis Arraez will get a lot of DH plate appearances and Byron Buxton will get time there too. Maybe Minnesota can be a place where Gallo can bounce back and flourish. With the rest of the outfield and much younger prospects like Trevor Larnach, Alex Kirilloff, Gilberto Celestino, Royce Lewis, Nick Gordon, Matt Wallner and Mark Contreras, any one (or multiple) of them could be a part of a package deal to get more starting pitching, or any pitching period. But if the Twins don’t trade Kepler, there are two outfielders with similar stats, bats and love to hit into the gaps. Once again, the Twins front office leaves fans scratching their heads with confusion, too many players in the outfield, no Gio, and there is still eight weeks until pitchers and catchers report. View full article

HI!!! I love the long rant, do NOT stress it at all. So, you have to bare in mind, that I *think* comparatively, as a small market team, they did do their best. That being said. I could NOT agree more than I do with this statement you made, "My problem is that they wasted a whole lot of time going after someone they should have know they couldn't get for their lowball offer while not improving the team in any drastic way. " SO on point. that is exactly how I feel. I would have preferred giving him 10 years 300-325mm, and I don't know why they didn't? didn't want to pay the luxury tax, what have you - but I full agree that now that is missed time and effort and if I was Swanson, I would not want to come here to be left overs.

what are you talking about? I didn't final edit the article, before posting, my editor did that. Mistakes happen. Someday you will miss out on something fun, or interesting.

ABSOLUTELY this. also watching the Mets just hemmorage Luxury tax, is laughable.

ugh.