Twins Video
Box Score
Pablo López: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
Home Runs: Royce Lewis (1)
Top 3 WPA:
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): Check back for this later; FanGraphs is experiencing some Opening Day hiccups.
With a lefty on the mound in Cole Ragans, Rocco Baldelli surprised some with his Opening Day lineup—Byron Buxton leading off, Ryan Jeffers batting second, and Manuel Margot as DH while placing Willi Castro in left field.
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First Inning Dinger Trade
If anyone was worried Royce Lewis might have something of a sophomore slump, the Twins third baseman tried to dispel them quickly. He took a second-pitch fastball 423 feet to left field and gave the good guys an early lead.
However, the Royals answered, giving López a bit of an early scare. Kansas City third baseman Maikel García had only four home runs over 500 plate appearances in the majors, but managed to put the bat on a hanging sweeper and land it on the wrong side of the wall in left, himself. López recovered in the inning, with strikeouts of Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Pérez.
Settling in for a Duel
If the first-inning bombs suggested the teams might be in for a derby contest, both pitchers shook off their shaky starts and found their dominant 2023 selves.
Ragans responded to the dinger by striking out the next four consecutive batters (with a little bit of help by umpire Laz Diaz). He managed a first-pitch strike on over three-quarters of Minnesota’s plate appearances against him, leaving Twins hitters continually fighting uphill. The Twins demonstrated some power—eight of the nine batters smacked a hard-hit ball against him—but the team failed to create any rallies beyond the third inning against the southpaw. The former Texas Rangers prospect pushed through six innings with nine strikeouts and three free passes.
López settled down into what seems to be a Cy Young-caliber rhythm, compiling a total of seven strikeouts with a few critical outs from Carlos Correa and Castro. López refused to walk a single batter, and remained efficient throughout his 84 pitches. Baldelli originally threatened to take López out after managing a flyout to begin the seventh—the bullpen door literally swung open—but the Venezuelan ace talked himself into two more batters with a groundout and a strikeout.
Injury Woes
After lining a single in the third inning to follow up from his homer, Royce Lewis took an awkward turn around second on a Correa double that would have otherwise scored two. Lewis left the game, and the Twins later reported it as a “right quad injury,” though details over the extent of the injury aren't yet satisfying anyone. From some close analysis on the tape, no one can say for sure what happened. That injury put a damper on the Twins rally as the team managed only a single run.
Lewis’s injury led to Julien entering the game, with Kyle Farmer flipping over from second to third. For fans demanding that Julien face left-handed pitching, the Canadian smashed hard hit single against Ragans in the fifth, though he would not reach home.
Bullpen Tests
With Ragans out, Alex Kirilloff, now sporting a comically large beard, subbed for Margot at DH to face righty Nick Anderson, though nothing came of the new match up Though Correa and Santana managed a pair of singles with no outs in the eighth inning against Angel Zerpa, the Twins once again remained scoreless thanks to a Max Kepler pop up (after taking one to the knee) and a pair of strikeouts by Farmer and Castro.
The ninth played out differently, with journeyman Chris Stratton on the mound. Once again, the Twins managed to put two on with a Kirilloff single and a walk by Buxton. Jeffers managed to push the runners on a dribbler. During a tough Julien at bat, Santana missed a high ball four, pushing Kirilloff in for an insurance run. Correa managed a dribbler that Vinnie Pasquantino failed to scoop out at first, allowing Buxton to pass by home and sending Royals fans toward the stands.
Given the taut shape of the game, this was a close test for how Baldelli and Pete Maki would manage their unexpected bullpen construction that looked quite different from their plans before Spring Training. Stewart opened up the eighth inning, with a pair of outs before allowing a single to Kyle Isbel, but Buxton tracked down a sharp line out from Garcia (something Twins fans hope to see again and again). Jax took on the ninth inning and had trouble locating the plate at first, allowing a walk to Bobby Witt Jr. before managing a strikeout on Perez and a harmless fly ball from MJ Melendez to open the season with a win.
What’s Next?
Updates on Royce Lewis will probably define what comes next, and the Twins must decide whether to call up former major leaguers like Trevor Larnach or Jose Miranda, or give a first cup of coffee to someone like Austin Martin. More importantly, Joe Ryan will take the mound and face up against former Padre Seth Lugo on Saturday.
Postgame Interviews
7 IP | 4 H | 7 K | 0 BB | 1 ER
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) March 28, 2024
Hear from Pablo Lopez after his stellar start in the #OpeningDay win over the Royals. 🔊#WeBelieveinTC | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/TjFBt4t0Ma
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
THU | SAT | SUN | TUE | WED | TOT | |
Alcala | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Duarte | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Funderburk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jackson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jax | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
Okert | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Stewart | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
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