Carlos Correa was a late scratch due to back spasms. Buxton gets a day off. Gallo is day-to-day and out of the lineup again today. Kepler is on the 10-day IL with patellar tendinitis, and Polanco is rehabbing in the minors. That means two things:
1) Of the Twins’ $158 million payroll, $75.476 million is out of the lineup today. If Jeffers had be scheduled to catch instead of Vásquez, that number would be $85.476 million.
2) Nick Gordon, cleanup hitter.
RIP Ian Bairnson, long time guitarist for Alan Parsons Project and Kate Bush. Ian wrote this track for a cousin who died in a helecopter crash during one of the desert conflicts.
(Ian plays the solo 3/4 of the way through the song)
(3 votes, average: 7.33 out of 10)
Loading... Three days ago things didn't look so good.
The Twins had lost two in a row, their home opener had been pushed back due to weather, and the defending champs were coming to town for a potentially challenging series.
Today there's good news!
Twins pitchers have decided to strike out everyone and not give up hits. The hitters have delivered enough hits with runners on to take the first two games of the series and Tyler Mahle takes the mound today to try and close out a sweep of the Astros.
Mahle will face Hunter Brown.
(1 votes, average: 10.00 out of 10)Loading... Just in advance of game time, the Twins announced Kepler has landed on the 10-day IL. Gallo was withdrawn from the game yesterday with right-side tightness, having already experienced it previously this season.
(2 votes, average: 8.50 out of 10)Loading... I feel like that roadtrip taught us a little something about the '23 Twins - they should beat bad teams, but good pitching is going to stop them. If only they had a guy like Arraez who could consistently make contact no matter who he's facing...
But today we get the home opener, and maybe Spring is finally here? And the sun is out! And the Sonny is out too, since he's our starting pitcher. These are all good things, right? It's a good Friday!
Alright, I have to get back to work. Go Twins.
(0 votes, average: 0.00 out of 10)Loading... (1 votes, average: 7.00 out of 10)Loading... Pablo López
vs
Jesús Luzardo
López returns to his original park right away this season for a rematch. We will see how well the Marlins remember his repertoire versus López adjusting his pitches this spring.
The Twins did a lot to increase rotation depth and after one turn through, it shows. The starters have a 1.03 ERA after five starts with 10.6 K/9. The relievers too have been great with a 1.53 ERA. The same has not been true for the batters. It was great to win two 2-0 games but I don't recommend it as a long-term strategy.
