April 5, 2021

Spring training really is meaningless, Part 2

The Twins appear to have put March and a lack of hitting behind them after they banged out 11 hits on Sunday in an 8-2 win and series win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Luis Arraez had a 3-for-3 day at the top of the order, plus Byron Buxton doubled, Mitch Garver and Miguel Sano homered, and Max Kepler knocked in three runs.

Big Mike gave the Twins five strong innings and the bullpen pitched largely scoreless baseball.

Matt Shoemaker gets the ball Monday against Detroit.

Extra innings…

-Shortstop Andrelton Simmons may have committed an error in Game 1 of the regular season, but after the play he made Sunday I can see what makes him one of the best. He ranged to his left to stop a ball through the infield and made it look easy. He made his move, he had the ball, he was up and throwing and it wasn’t close at first. It was all very fluid and fast. Simmons can also hit.

-Brent Rooker has rejoined the Twins after Josh Donaldson landed on the injured list. The Twittersphere should be happy about that.

-Old friend watch: Former Twins pitcher, Kyle Gibson, who now pitches for the Texas Rangers, got the nod on opening day and it was a disaster. Gibson, who lasted a third of an inning, allowed five runs, all earned, on four hits with three walks. He exited with an ERA of 135.00.

-Old friend watch: Former Twins player, Robbie Grossman, now of the Detroit Tigers, continues to be one of the best at getting on base. Grossman has gone hitless in his first five at bats of the season, but he also has walked eight times. So, he has a batting average of .000 but an on-base percentage of .615. I wish the Twins had never parted ways with Grossman.

-Old friend watch: The Cleveland Indians’ Eddie Rosario had a hit, knocked in two runs and earned a free pass in the Tribe’s 9-3 win over the Tigers on Sunday.

-The Chicago White Sox fell to 1-3 on Sunday after the L.A. Angels won in walk-off fashion, courtesy of a three-run home run.

COMMENTS

Hi, I’m Rolf Boone, Twins fan.

I became a fan of the Minnesota Twins after a friendly wager in the early 1980s. I survived Ron Davis, the meltdown in Cleveland, Phil Bradley at the Kingdome and then marveled at a rising generation of stars and two World Series wins in 1987 and 1991. Brad Radke made the 1990s bearable, while Kirby Puckett’s eye injury, exit from the game and eventual death made it almost too much to bear. The new century ushered in more talent — Joe Mauer, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan, Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau — and consecutive seasons of playoff baseball, followed by consecutive seasons of losing baseball. A winning season returned in 2015. So here we are. Go Twins.