The Minnesota Twins secured a 4-1 victory against the Kansas City Royals on Opening Day but faced a setback when Royce Lewis experienced discomfort at third base, slowing down on Carlos Correa’s RBI double. Lewis, who hit a homer in his first at-bat, described the feeling as a cramp that tightened up. Disappointed that he couldn’t score, Lewis was replaced by Edouard Julien on base. He expressed hope for a positive update after undergoing an MRI.
Carlos Correa had an impressive 3-for-4 game, driving in two runs and extending his streak of safely reaching base at Kauffman Stadium to 21 games, the longest in the majors. The Twins planned to start right-hander Joe Ryan for the next game. Ryan boasts a 5-0 record with a 1.50 ERA in six starts against the Royals and has particularly dominated Bobby Witt Jr., who has only one hit in 16 at-bats against him.
Seth Lugo, making his Royals debut, has a 2.57 ERA in four career games against Minnesota. In his last outing, Lugo, then with the San Diego Padres, pitched six innings, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts. Cole Ragans, starting on Opening Day for the first time, struck out nine batters, setting a franchise record. Despite Ragans’ strong performance, the Royals struggled offensively, with Maikel Garcia’s leadoff homer being their only run.
Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro acknowledged the difficulty of scoring against strong pitching and highlighted the need to find ways to score more runs. The Royals had a significant roster turnover, with nine players making their first Opening Day roster and 19 players on the 2024 roster who were not part of the team for Opening Day in 2023. Quatraro praised the team’s new roster for quickly forming a cohesive group, crediting both the new additions and existing players for their character.
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