Minnesota Twins Game 132: Lineups and First Impressions

Fresh off a walk off win, the Kansas City Royals welcome the Minnesota Twins back to Kauffman Stadium today.  Glen Perkins took the loss last night after serving up a two run home run to Royals left fielder Alex Gordon.  The Twins will look to bounc back right away in tonight’s contest.

On the mound for Minnesota will be Phil Hughes, who has been lights out of late.  He will be opposed by the Royals spot starter, and former Twins player, Liam Hendriks.

Here is how both teams will line up:

Minnesota Twins (58-73)

Danny Santana CF

Brian Dozier 2B

Joe Mauer 1B

Kennys Vargas DH

Oswaldo Arcia RF

Trevor Plouffe 3B

Kurt Suzuki C

Eduardo Escobar SS

Jordan Schafer LF

Kansas City Royals (73-58)

Nori Aoki RF

Alcides Escobar SS

Alex Gordon LF

Billy Butler 1B

Salvador Perez C

Raul Ibanez DH

Mike Moustakas 3B

Christian Colon 2B

Jarrod Dyson CF

First Impressions:

• Tonight the Twins run out the exact same lineup that scored them all of one run last night against the Royals.  However, with Hendriks on the mound, I’d expect the result to be much different.
• The Royals remove Josh Willingham from the lineup tonight in favor of veteran Raul Ibanez.
• Hopefully the Twins offense wakes up and Phil Hughes is able to put together yet another strong start.
• Minnesota and Kansas City currently have records that directly mirror each other, however, can you honestly say the lineups are that much different?  Further proof it all comes down to pitching.

Game Details:

First pitch tonight is scheduled for 7:10pm central time.  The game can be seen on Fox Sports North and heard on the Twins Radio Network.