MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Began the season with a three-game sweep of the Royals at Kauffman Stadium over the weekend, followed by a win in Miami last night…tonight, they will play the second of three at loanDepot Park…after tomorrow afternoon’s series finale, the Twins will travel home to begin their 14th season at Target Field with three against the Astros from Friday-Sunday and three against the White Sox from Monday-Wednesday.
Twins are one of two teams in baseball yet to lose, joining the Tampa Bay Rays (4-0).
SEE YOU ON FRIDAY: Thursday afternoon’s Home Opener at Target Field has been postponed and rescheduled for 3:10 pm (CT) on Friday, April 7…the Twin Cities is expecting temperatures in the upper 30’s and high wind…it marks the fourth postponed Home Opener in club history (since 1961), also April 13, 1962 (snow); April 22, 1972 (cold and wet grounds); and April 7, 2022 (cold and rain/snow in forecast).
ADJUST YOUR BUNNY EARS: Tonight’s game can be seen on Bally Sports North Extra, due to a Minnesota Timberwolves scheduling conflict…the Wolves play the Nets at 6:30 pm (CT).
PARTY IN THE CITY WHERE THE HEAT IS ON: The Twins beat the Marlins last night at loanDepot Park by a score of 11-1, extending their winning streak to start the season to four…Tyler Mahle (1-0) was the starter and winner, allowing one run on five hits in 5.0 innings pitched, with one walk and seven strikeouts…the offense recorded 10 hits, four being home runs from Max Kepler (1), Joey Gallo (3), Trevor Larnach (1) and Ryan Jeffers (1)…Kepler’s led off the game, marking the 14th leadoff homer of his career, tying Chuck Knoblauch for third on the Twins all-time list (Brian Dozier – 28 & Jacque Jones – 20).
WINNESOTA: After Texas’ 2-0 loss to Baltimore last night, Minnesota is now one of two teams in baseball yet to lose a game, joining Tampa Bay (4-0), who beat the Nationals last night…the Twins are looking to start a season 5-0 for the for the third time in Twins/Senators franchise history (since 1901)…the previous two times were 1968 and 1913…the 1968 team started 6-0 and the 1913 team started 5-0.
MIAMI NICE: The Twins and Marlins are playing each other for the 18th time in their history tonight…the Twins are 10-7 against the Marlins, going 2-1 at the Metrodome, 2-1 at Dolphin Stadium, 3-3 at Marlins Park and 3-2 at Target Field…Twins have won three of their last four against the Marlins and five of their last seven, dating back to 2016.
Notable numbers vs. Sandy Alcantara: Joey Gallo is 3-for-8 with a double, a triple and a walk…Max Kepler is 1-for-1 with a home run and two walks.
NATIONAL NEWS: The Twins have won four straight against National League opponents, dating back to a three-game sweep of the Giants, from August 26-28, 2022…four-straight wins against an NL opponent is their longest since taking five straight from St. Louis and Pittsburgh from July 28-August 5, 2020.
The Twns went 8-12 against the National League last season, going 0-4 vs. the Dodgers, 1-2 vs. the D-Backs, 2-1 vs. the Rockies, 1-3 vs. the Brewers, 1-2 vs. the Padres and 3-0 vs. the Giants…for the first time, the Twins will play each of the 15 National League teams… Minnesota’s 2023 Interleague home slate includes Target Field visits from the Nationals (April 21-23), Padres (May 9-11), Cubs (May 12-14), Giants (May 22-24), Brewers (June 13-14), Diamondbacks (August 4-6), Pirates (August 18-20) and Mets (September 8-10)… following this series, the Twins will also play road games at the Dodgers (May 15-17), Braves (June 26-28), Cardinals (August 1-3), Phillies (August 11-13), Brewers (August 22-23), Reds (September 18-20) and Rockies (September 29-October 1).
Jose Miranda is hitting .351 (20-for-57) with three doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI and a .938 OPS in 16 games against NL opponents.
Max Kepler is hitting .383 (23-for-60) with 10 walks, a .471 on-base percentage and a 1.105 OPS in his last 18 IL games.
GALLO-BOMBS: Joey Gallo has four hits in 13 at-bats this season, all of which have gone for extra-bases (3 home runs and 1 double)…last season with the Yankees and Dodgers, Gallo recorded 56 hits, 29 going for extra bases (52%)…Gallo is tied with three others for major league lead in home runs (box to right) and is tied for third in the AL in total bases (also right)…additionally, according to Elias, Gallo is tied with three others for most home runs through their first four career games for the Twins/Senators (since 1901):
SERIES STUFF: A victory tonight would secure the second series win of the season for the Twins…in 2022, they went 21-24-6 in series play, going 14-8-4 at home and 7-16-2 on the road…the last time the Twins won both of their first two series in a season came in 2021, taking two of three at both Milwaukee and Detroit.
ROAD ‘LOS: In his last 29 road games, dating back to August 13, 2022, Carlos Correa is hitting .321 (36-for-112) with five doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI, 12 walks, a .386 on-base percentage and an .886 OPS…since that date, his road average ranks sixth in the AL, his OBP ranks seventh and his OPS ranks eighth (minimum 100 plate appearances).
ARMS RACE: Through four games, Twins pitchers combined to post a 1.25 ERA (36.0 IP, 5 ER), with 14 walks, 36 strikeouts, while holding batters to a slashline of .190/.277/.286.
Starters have gone 4-0, 0.84 ERA (21.1 IP, 2 ER), with 10 walks and 22 strikeouts…Twins rank second in baseball in starter ERA, trailing only Tampa Bay (0.39)…additionally, they rank fourth in opponent batting average (.173).
The Twins bullpen has combined to allow just three runs on 11 hits in 14.2 innings pitched, posting an ERA of 1.84 and an opponent batting average of .216…the bullpen’s 15 base runners allowed are tied for fourth fewest in baseball.
LARNACH ON WOOD: Trevor Larnach has seven hits and three walks in 19 plate appearances this season, slashing .438/.526/.750 in four games…his .438 batting average ranks fifth in the AL, trailing Adam Duvall (.588), Matt Chapman (.533), Wander Franco (.533) and Austin Hays (.462).
TWINS VS. MARLINS
2023 Record: …………………………………..1-0
Current Streak:……………………………..1 win
2016 at Home: …………………………………2-1
2023 at Miami:…………………………………1-0
All-Time Record:…………………………….10-7
All-Time at Home: …………………………….5-3
All-Time at Miami:…………………………….5-4
STARTING PITCHER – KENTA MAEDA 18
Making his first appearance since August 21, 2021 after Tommy John surgery.
Facing Miami for the first time since July 9, 2019…is 1-2 2.28 ERA (27.2 IP, 7 ER), 3 BB, 25 K with one hold in five career appearances against Miami.
Entering his fourth season with the Twins after being traded, along with Jair Carmargo, from Los Angeles-NL in exchange for Brusdar Graterol and Luke Raley.
SPRING RECAP: Maeda made five Grapefruit League appearances this spring and started four games, going 1-1, 4.91 ERA (14.2 IP, 8 ER) with 10 walks and 14 strikeouts…was scoreless in his first two appearances that spanned three innings, giving up two hits and no walks…on March 19, allowed five runs against Atlanta over 4.0 innings, the most ever in his spring training career…pitched 5.0 innings in his final appearance on March 24 against New York-AL and surrendered two runs, three hits and issued three walks.
LAST START: Maeda had his third shortest outing of the season on August 21, 2021 against New York-AL…allowed five runs over 4.1 innings with five strikeouts and one walk…he exited the game in the fourth inning with right forearm tightness…season was cut short after it was revealed he would need Tommy John surgery.
TOMMY JOHN: Missed entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery on right elbow…spent the summer at the Twins spring training facility in Fort Myers, FL, with occasional visits to Minneapolis.
AGAINST MIAMI: Maeda is facing the Marlins for the sixth time in his career, going 1-2, 2.28 ERA (27.2 IP, 7 ER), with 12 walks and 59 strikeouts in his five appearances..has only made four starts against Miami…last faced Miami on July 19, 2019 at Dodger Stadium in a relief appearance, pitching one hitless inning and fanning two batters, earning his first hold of the season.
Maeda’s last appearance against Miami at loanDepot Park was on May 17, 2018 where he secured the win by pitching 8.0 shutout innings with eight strikeouts…the only blemishes in the game were two line drives to the outfield.
ON THE ROAD: In the 2021 season, Maeda pitched 66.7 percent of his games on the road…he went 4-3, with a 6.06 ERA (68.1 IP, 48 ER) with 22 walks and 76 strikeouts in 14 starts away from Target Field… is 26-22, 4.71 ERA (387.2 IP, 203 ER) with 124 walks and 491 strikeouts in his career on the road.
LEFTIES AND RIGHTIES: In 2021, Maeda posted similar lines to both lefties and righties with right handers batting .257/.312/.421 with 52 hits, nine doubles and 56 strikeouts over 202 AB, while lefties posted a 258/.331./445 line with 54 hits, 11 doubles a 57 strikeouts over 207 AB.
The 2021 season was different than the rest of his career where he historically has seen more success against right-handed batters, with righties only batting .203/.253/.349 with 297 hits against Maeda, as opposed to left-handed batters slashing .250/.321/.424 with 349 hits.
2021 ARSENAL: Over the 2020-2021 seasons, Maeda’s slider has overtaken his four-seam fastball as his most-used pitch in his five-pitch arsenal…here’s a breakdown of his 2021 offerings and the results:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (#, vs. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
Slider (82.1)……………………. 36.7% (652 pitches, 445/207)………… .231 (35-for-151), 8 2B, 7 HR, 40 K
Split Finger (84.2)……………. 28.5% (505 pitches, 133/372).. .229 (33-for-144), 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 45 K
4-Seam Fastball (90.6)…….. 25.9% (460 pitches, 236/224)………….. .297 (27-for-91), 5 2B, 6 HR, 28 K
Sinker (89.9) ………………………. 5.3% (94 pitches, 52/42)…………………….. .524 (11-for-21), 1 2B, 1 HR
Curveball (75.2)…………………… 3.6% (64 pitches, 6/58) ………………………………………….. .000 (0-for-4)
MINNESOTA NICE: Maeda is entering his fourth season (third active) with the Twins…since joining Minnesota, Maeda has gone 12-6, 3.90 ERA (173.0 IP, 75 ER) with 42 walks and 193 strikeouts.
Maeda has the most strikeouts by a pitcher within his first 32 games with the Twins, has given up the second lowest amount of hits with 146 (trailing Joe Ryan at 131) and has the 15th lowest ERA (minimum 170.0 IP).
INTER-LEAGUE GAMES: Since the start of his career in 2016, Maeda has pitched in 24 interleague games, going 7-7, 4.35 ERA (111.2 IP, 54 ER) with 38 walks and 121 strikeouts.
Has given up the least amount of hits in 24 interleague games since 2016 with 92 (minimum 110.0 IP).
CAREER NOTES
• Missed entire 2022 season recovering from Tommy John surgery on right elbow…
• Finished second in the 2020 American League Cy Young Award voting, accruing 92 total votes (Cleveland’s Shane Bieber was the unanimous winner).
• Named Joseph W. Haynes Award winner for Twins Pitcher of the Year in 2020, voted on by the Twin Cities Chapter of the BBWAA…also named the starting pitcher on 2020 All-MLB Second Team.
• Pitched 8.0 no-hit innings on August 18, 2020 vs. MIL before bid was broken up in the ninth…longest no-hit bid of career, and set Twins record with eight-straight K’s.
• Is the third Japanese-born player in Twins franchise history, after Micheal Nakamura (2003) and Tsuyoshi Nishioka (2011-12).
• Owns the fifth-most strikeouts in MLB history among Japanese-born pitchers.
• His 16 wins in 2016 were the second-most wins ever by a Los Angeles-NL rookie, behind only Rick Sutcliffe (17-10, 1979), and tied for the second-most ever in a single season by a Japanese pitcher.
• In 2016, led qualifying MLB rookie starting pitchers in starts (32), wins (16), opponents’ batting average (.229), WHIP (1.14), innings pitched (175.2) and strikeoutto-walk ratio (3.58).
• Named to the 2016 Baseball America Major League All-Rookie Team, and finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.
MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:
MARLINS MINUTE
The Marlins today play the second of three games against the Minnesota Twins, their first of 15 Interleague series in 2023. Are coming off their opening series against the New York Mets in which they went 1-3. The club’s first road trip will include a three-game series against the Mets that starts on April 6, with a built-in off day on April 7, before heading to play the reigning National League champion Phillies from April 10-12.
YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Miami dropped the series opener against Minnesota, 1-11, after RHP Johnny Cueto’s early exit in his Marlins debut. Cueto surrendered 2 home runs, including a lead-off homer, in his first 7 batters faced before leaving with an injury. RHP Jeff Lindgren gave Miami 5.0 innings in relief in his Major League debut, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits with 3 walks. The Marlins offense totaled a season-high 12 hits, yet went 2×9 with RISP and left 9 runners on base. INF Luis Arraez extended his hitting streak to 5 games, going 2×5 with 1 RBI. OF Bryan De La Cruz (3×4) and OF Avisail Garcia (2×4) each had multi-hit games to join Arraez.
TODAY’S TRANSACTIONS
The Marlins have made the following roster moves prior to today’s game:
• Recalled INF/OF Garrett Hampson and LHP Braxton Garrett from Triple-A Jacksonville.
• Selected LHP Daniel Castano from Triple-A Jacksonville.
• Placed RHP Johnny Cueto on the 15-day IL (Right biceps tightness).
• INF Joey Wendle on the 10-day IL, retro to 4/3 (Strained right intercostal).
• Designated RHP Jeff Lindgren for assignment.
TWINS IN TOWN
The Marlins host the Minnesota Twins this week at loanDepot park for the first time since 2019 when they went 1-2 in the three-game set. Are 7-11 in 16 match-ups against the Twins dating back to 2002. Is just the third time the club hosts the Twins since moving to Miami.
CELEBRATING OUR CHAMPIONS
The Marlins yesterday presented Sandy Alcantara with his 2022 NL Cy Young Award and will continue their week of celebrations tonight as Luis Arraez is set to receive his 2022 AL Batting Champion and Silver Slugger Awards. Jon Berti, the 2022 NL Stolen Base champion, will receive his hardware tomorrow. Following the presentation of their awards, the trophies will be on display on the Promenade Level.
GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
INF Luis Arraez is 11×21 (.524), ranking second in Franchise history for hits through five games to start his Marlins career behind only Emilio Bonifacio (14 H in 2009).
• Arraez became just the second player in Marlins history to reach base safely as the starting leadoff hitter in each of the first four games to start a season, joining Hanley Ramirez in 2006 (credit: Elias Sports Bureau).
• His 11 hits currently lead MLB; ranks second in NL in batting avg., and fifth in MLB in batting avg. going into Tuesday’s game.
CY YOUNG SANDY
The 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner RHP Sandy Alcantara toed the rubber last Thursday for Miami in his fourth consecutive Opening Day start. He became the first pitcher in Marlins history to make four consecutive Opening Day starts. Surpassed the previous mark of three, which he shared with Josh Beckett (2003-05) and Josh Johnson (2010-12). Alcantara was also one of three pitchers in the Majors to make a fourth consecutive Opening Day start with the same team, joining Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola (sixth) and Cleveland’s Shane Bieber (fourth).
• Alcantara, the first Marlin to win the National League Cy Young Award, ranks among the best all-time in several categories through 111 games started, including his 630 strikeouts (6th), 9 complete games (6th), and 713.1 innings pitched (9th).
• Among Marlins pitchers with at least 500.0 innings pitched, Alcantara has posted the lowest ERA (3.10).
• The Marlins tonight will return last summer’s hit “Sandy’s Beach” package, which offers fans the opportunity to see the reigning Cy Young in action, a ticket in the “Sandy’s Beach” section, and exclusive access to a Sandy Alcantara t-shirt.
HISTORIC PAIR
C Jacob Stallings caught all 228.2 innings thrown by Alcantara in 2022, joining Tim McCarver/Stebe Carlton (1977 Phillies), Damon Berryhill/Greg Maddux (1993 Cubs), and Robinson Chirinos/Justin Verlander (2019 Astros) as the only battery mates in MLB history to share every pitch in a Cy Young winner’s season (credit: Elias Sports Bureau).
SOLER POWER
OF Jorge Soler has hit safely in 4 of 5 games to start the season and is tied for the NL-lead with 3 doubles alongside San Diego’s Xander Bogaerts, Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos, and San Francisco’s Mike Yastrzemski.
• Soler’s double in the fourth inning yesterday had an exit velocity of 114.1 mph – the highest among safely batted balls in MLB on day five of the regular season.
BACK IN THE 305
The Marlins are scheduled to face RHP Pablo Lopez on Wednesday at loanDepot park. Lopez went 28-31 with a 3.94 ERA in 94 starts with the Marlins prior to being traded in the offseason. Will mark the 37th time in franchise history the Marlins will face a starting pitcher who made at least 90 starts for the organization before joining another team. These opposing starters have gone 14-11 with a 3.87 ERA in the 36 previous such starts against the Marlins.
HOME OF EVERYTHING
loanDepot park will once again be in the National spotlight this weekend when the Drone Racing League 2023 Championship airs on Saturday, April 8 on NBC at 3 p.m. ET. The event was filmed at loanDepot park back in February and features drones flying more than 150 mph through an obstacle course around the ballpark.
CAN’T MAKE IT THAT EASY
Miami’s pitching currently ranks 3rd in MLB with 23 walks, behind only Arizona (28) and Chicago-AL (26). Through 30 years of the club’s history, the team has only given more free passes through the first four games to begin a season six times – 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2011 (24 BB); 2016 (25 BB); and 2002 (26 BB).
• On the other side of the rubber, the Marlins offense has struck out 52 times in 163 at-bats, marking the most strikeouts in club history through the first five games of a season. Miami is second in MLB in strikeouts, behind only Colorado (53 SO).
TODAY’S STARTER – 22 SANDY ALCANTARA
• Sandy Alcantara (Al-CON-ta-ra), 27, finished his historic 2022 season with 32 starts going 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA and 207 strikeouts in 228.2 innings, along with 6 complete games, a 0.98 WHIP, and a .212 opponents’ batting average in 32 starts. He led Major League Baseball in innings pitched and complete games and led all NL pitchers with an 8.1 WAR (Baseball Reference).
• Walked 4 batters and allowed 3 runs in 5.2 innings on Opening Day vs. the Mets, a very similar outing to his Opening Day start in 2022, when he walked 5 batters and allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in 5.0 innings.
• In November 16, 2022 – Sandy Alcantara was named unanimously the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, becoming the first pitcher in Marlins’ franchise history to receive the honor.
• Won Baseball Digest’s MLB Pitcher of the Year Award. Became the second Marlin to win this honor (Dontrelle Willis, 2005). Was named the second annual Juan Marichal Award recipient, an honor given to the league’s best Dominican player.
• His 14 wins were the most by a Marlins pitcher since Jose Urena in 2017 (14-7). The last Marlin to have more wins was Jose Fernandez, who won 16 games in 2016.
• Became the first pitcher since Chris Sale in 2016 to throw 6 CG. Only three pitchers in club history have recorded more CGs in a season – Livan Hernandez (9, 1998), A.J. Burnett (7, 2002) and Dontrelle Willis (7, 2005).
• Posted a 1.64 ERA (121.0 IP/22 ER) in 16 starts at loanDepot park. Marked the best home ERA by a Marlins starter with at least 15 starts since Jose Fernandez in 2016 and is the fourth-lowest mark in club history (J. Fernandez, 1.19 – 2013; J. Johnson, 1.57, 2010; J. Fernandez,
1.63 – 2016).
