Minnesota Twins Game 83: Lineups and First Impressions
Fresh off an offensive outburst yesterday against the Kansas City Royals, Ron Gardenhire and the Minnesota Twins will be looking to make it two straight and grab a series win. With today’s matinée matchup being the rubber match in the series with Kansas City, the Twins will be asking Kevin Correia to put them in a position to win. He will go up against Jason Vargas of the Royals.
With the Yankees coming into town over the festive weekend, the Twins will be looking to get a pivotal divisional series win before going head to head with the Bronx Bombers. After a great day at the plate yesterday, the Twins were forced to place Joe Mauer on the disabled list with an oblique injury. As oblique’s typically take a substantial amount of time to heal, the Twins called up Chris Colabello to take his place.
For the series finale with the Royals, here is how both teams will line up.
Kansas City Royals (43-40)
1. Alcides Escobar SS
2. Eric Hosmer 1B
3. Billy Butler DH
4. Alex Gordon LF
5. Salvador Perez C
6. Raul Ibanez RF
7. Omar Infante 2B
8. Mike Moustakas 3B
9. Jarrod Dyson CF
Minnesota Twins (38-44)
1. Eduardo Nunez SS
2. Brian Dozier 2B
3. Chris Parmelee 1B
4. Kendrys Morales DH
5. Josh Willingham LF
6. Oswaldo Arcia RF
7. Trevor Plouffe 3B
8. Eric Fryer C
9. Sam Fuld CF
First Impressions:
- Eduardo Nunez is getting another start today at short, Gardy hasn’t used him much there, however he did back up Derek Jeter when he was with the Yankees.
- With Parmelee handling the bat well of late, the Twins 3-7 hitters once again represent a pretty solid power lineup. Morales had a nice game yesterday and each of those guys has some pop.
- It really is still so frustrating seeing Fryer in the lineup. The Twins have to have a backup catcher, and Suzuki needs breaks, but Fryer represents little more than Drew Butera in the lineup, and automatic outs are tough for a mediocre offense.
- Kevin Correia on the hill again today, here’s to hoping for another strong outing. There’s nothing more important for him and the Twins than to continue to build his trade value right now.
Game Time:
First pitch is set for 12:10pm central time, and the game can be seen on Fox Sports North. With the United States national team getting bounced from the World Cup yesterday, the Twins represent a great day sports viewing opportunity.
If you aren’t near a television, the game can be heard on the Twins Baseball Radio Network.