Twins manager Rocco Baldelli rolled out a regular season lineup on Saturday, featuring all the names we have come to expect: Wallner, Correa, Buxton, Larnach, Jeffers, Miranda, Julien, France and Bader.
And I imagine we will see this lineup throughout the season.
Let’s hope they play better than they did on Saturday, which was an underwhelming 2-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays and their 40-year-old starting pitcher. Yes, that pitcher was future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, but he is clearly on the downside of his career. Still, he struck out four over four scoreless innings and earned the win.
The Twins produced a smattering of hits, but they also were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. The only run came on a no-doubt-about-it home run from Buck.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again: nobody is going to have any patience for this team if they struggle to score runs and can’t come up with enough clutch hitting. The Twins have a very deep pitching staff, but the lineup is essentially unchanged from last season, except for the additions of France and Bader, who aren’t going to be confused with Ruth and Gehrig anytime soon. In short, did the Twins do enough this offseason? There are some who think they did not.
MLB.com predicts the Tigers will win the division and that the division will produce no wild card teams.
“This division had two of them (wild card teams) last year, but a lot of that was due to wins that came at the expense of the White Sox. Chicago will be more competitive in 2025, and that will hurt Cleveland, Kansas City and Minnesota. This year, I think there’s only room for the champ.”
“With another year of injury-related interruptions, the Twins find themselves stuck in the middle again. They boast enough talent to avoid having the bottom fall out from under them but not enough impact to power a return to the postseason. Minnesota finishes third while either Kansas City or Detroit disappoints and falls to fourth.”
“There’s always a chance with Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober at the front of the rotation, but the cash-strapped Minnesota Twins (80-82) likely had too docile a winter to keep up with the pack.”
Extra innings…
-Interesting game between the Phillies and Yankees on Saturday. The Yankees took a 7-0 lead into the ninth inning and lost, the Phillies scoring all eight of their runs in the top of the frame for the 8-7 win.