MINNESOTA TWINS NEWS

Twins try to sweep series against the Royals

The Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals square off in the last game of a three-game series

APRIL 2, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Twins keep rolling to open season, post second consecutive shutout against Royals KANSAS CITY, Mo. – "You might never see the same lineup out there two games in a row," Rocco Baldelli said of his versatile Twins roster dur...

APRIL 2, 2023 • KANSASCITY.COM

Twins blank Royals for second straight game Sonny Gray threw five shutout innings and the visiting Minnesota Twins blanked the Kansas City Royals for the second straight game 2-0 on Sa...

APRIL 1, 2023 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Jhoan Duran - Unavailable for save chance Sunday Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters that that Duran was unavailable after "sleeping funny" for Saturday's game against the Royals.

Impact Baldelli says that it was nothing serious, but that's why it was Jorge Lopez was given the save chance for Saturday's game rather than Duran. The talented right-hander appears likely to be available going forward, and it appears he's the favorite for save chances to begin -- and likely end -- the 2023 campaign.

APRIL 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Byron Buxton - Scores twice in victory Buxton went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a double in Saturday's victory over Royals.

Impact Buxton has picked up extra-base hits in each of his first two games, as he tripled on Opening Day and laced a double off Jordan Lyles. Over eight at-bats to open the season he's now hitting .444 with a .778 slugging percentage. Buxton has been the designated hitter in the first two games for Minnesota, and it's allowed the 29-year-old to make an immediate impact with the bat.

APRIL 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

KC Royals make wrong kind of history (twice) in loss to Minnesota Twins: recap A slumbering offense, stretch of poor defense and pitch-clock violation combined to doom the Royals.

APRIL 1, 2023 • KANSASCITY.COM

Twins open with 2 shutouts for 1st time, beat Royals 2-0

Sonny Gray and four relievers combined on a four-hitter, Jose Miranda had an RBI single, Kyle Farmer drove in another run with a sacrifice fly and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kans...

APRIL 1, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jorge López - Picks up first save of season Lopez hurled a scoreless inning with a strikeout while picking up a save Saturday against the Royals.

Impact Lopez worked in the seventh inning in the opener, but the right-hander was tasked with picking up the save for Saturday's affair. He needed just eight pitches to get through the lineup -- six of those for strikes -- and looked like the pitcher that made him such a solid option for the first half of the 2022 campaign with Baltimore. Jhoan Duran is going to get his save chances as well, so this will be a difficult situation for fantasy players at least to begin 2023.

APRIL 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Sonny Gray - Five scoreless in victory Gray didn't allow a run in his five innings of work during Saturday's win over the Royals.

Impact Gray did walk four and only had one strikeout, but he was able to avoid giving up a run while picking up his first victory of the 2023 season. The right-hander kept the Kansas City lineup off-balance through the majority of the outing, and 52-of-83 pitches ended up landing in the strike zone. It was far from a dominant effort, but it's tough to complain about five scoreless frames in your debut. Gray's scheduled to face off against the Astros on Thursday in a much tougher matchup on paper.

APRIL 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Twins bring 1-0 series lead over Royals into game 2

The Minnesota Twins meet the Kansas City Royals with a 1-0 series lead

APRIL 1, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Saints rally but lose at Toledo on Opening Day Edouard Julien and Kyle Garlick hit homers for the St. Paul Saints, but they lost 7-4 to the Mud Hens in their first game this season.

APRIL 1, 2023 • STARTRIBUNE.COM

Experienced starters looking to eat innings for Twins, Royals Two veteran right-handers will go head-to-head when the Kansas City Royals host the Minnesota Twins in the second game of their three-game s...

MARCH 31, 2023 • STAR-TELEGRAM.COM

Experienced starters looking to eat innings for Twins, Royals Two veteran right-handers will go head-to-head when the Kansas City Royals host the Minnesota Twins in the second game of their three-game s...

MARCH 31, 2023 • SACBEE.COM

Edouard Julien - Homers in Triple-A debut Julien (ankle) went 1-for-4 with a home run Friday for Triple-A St. Paul.

Impact Julien hurt his ankle late in spring training but it doesn't look to be an issue for the regular season. Julien begins the minor league season where he left off in the spring as he homered in his first game for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic and also hit three home runs in big league spring training with a 1.114 OPS. A strong start at Triple-A could see him called up earlier rather than later this season, especially if Jorge Polanco's knee injury becomes a long-term issue.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Michael Helman - Out with hamstring injury Helman was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A St. Paul to begin the season, TwinsDaily.com reports.

Impact Helman was promoted to Triple-A last season after hitting six home runs with a .839 OPS in 39 games at Double-A. He hit 14 home runs at Triple-A in 96 games but had just a .741 OPS. He was invited to big league spring training but missed much of it with the hamstring issue and it's not clear when he may return.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Austin Martin - Placed on IL at Triple-A Martin (elbow) was placed on the 7-day injured list to begin the season at Triple-A St. Paul.

Impact Martin suffered a UCL sprain in his right elbow and it's not clear how long he'll be sidelined. Martin largely underwhelmed at Double-A Wichita last year but picked things up late in the season and ended up hitting .235 with two homers, 57 runs, 32 RBI and 34 stolen bases over 90 games.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

2023 MLB odds: Best win total, division bets, long-shot, title futures, expert picks

FOX Sports betting experts Sam Panayotovich, Chris Fallica and Egros give their early best bets for the MLB season ahead of Opening Day!

MARCH 31, 2023

Christian Vázquez - Two hits in season opener Vazquez started at catcher and went 2-for-4 in Thursday's season-opening win over Kansas City.

Impact Vazquez should be the primary catcher for the Twins with the only question being how much playing time backup Ryan Jeffers will receive. The 32-year-old backstop slashed .274/.315/.399 with nine home runs, 52 RBI, one stolen base and 41 runs scored over 119 contests last season between Boston and Houston.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Michael A. Taylor - Looks like primary CF starter Taylor started in center field and went 1-for-4 in Thursday's season-opening win at Kansas City.

Impact Taylor looks set to be the primary center fielder with Minnesota's plan to easy Byron Buxton into action by starting him at DH as he returns from offseason knee surgery. It will be interesting to see if the Twins use anyone other than Buxton in center field early in the season as there's not a clear next best option though Nick Gordon, Joey Gallo and Max Kepler are options.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Nick Gordon - Looks like primary starting 2B Gordon started at second base and went 0-for-2 in Thursday's season-opening win at Kansas City. He was lifted in the sixth inning for pinch hitter Kyle Farmer.

Impact Gordon looks set to be the primary second basement in the the strong side of a platoon while Jorge Polanco is on the injured list. It may be a month or more before Polanco returns, so Gordon could be set for significant playing time early in the season.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Jose Miranda - Plays 3B with no issues Miranda started at third base and went 0-for-3 with two walks in Thursday's season-opening win at Kansas City.

Impact Miranda was limited to DH and first base for most of spring training due to a sore throwing shoulder. However, it looks like he's ready for everyday duty at the hot corner with the start of the regular season. His sore shoulder wasn't an issue at the plate as Miranda had a tremendous spring with five home runs and a 1.225 OPS.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Byron Buxton - Hits triple in season opener Buxton started at DH and went 2-for-5 with a triple in Thursday's season-opening win at Kansas City.

Impact Buxton underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in late September, and the Twins eased him into action during the spring. He only played in major league spring games at the end of March and then only DH. The Twins say they plan to play Buxton at DH almost exclusively in April and maybe beyond to ease him into action and keep him healthy. If he continues to perform like on Opening Day, the plan will more than offset his loss of defensive value in center field.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Joey Gallo - Starts at first base in opener Gallo started at first base and went 0-for-2 in Thursday's season opening win at Kansas City. He was lifted for pinch hitter Donovan Solano in the sixth inning.

Impact Gallo extended his hitless streak against starter Zack Greinke to 0-for-19 but contributed a nice defensive play by throwing out a runner at home. Gallo looks set to be the primary first baseman with Alex Kirilloff on the injured list. However, his substitution for a right-handed hitter shows his playing time will be in flux based on matchups.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Griffin Jax - Gets hold in season debut Jax threw a scoreless eighth inning with a walk in Thursday's win over against Kansas City to earn his first hold of the season.

Impact It was notable that Jax was used in the eighth inning ahead of Jhon Duran in the ninth with Pablo Lopez working the seventh inning. It may just be the first game, but Jax looked ahead of Lopez in the order of the bullpen. Jax had a breakout season after moving to the bullpen last season and became a key setup man for the Twins. He improved both his strikeout (26.9 percent) and walk (6.9 percent) rates with a 78:20 K:BB ratio over 72.1 innings. It looks like he could be the main set-up man and rack up the holds again and possibly be in the mix for saves if manager Rocco Baldelli sticks to his previous matchup-based bullpen use.

MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

If Twins are to reach their goals, better health is a must KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s been more than three decades since the Twins — or any Minnesota professional sports team, for that matter — have won...

MARCH 31, 2023 • TWINCITIES.COM