Minnesota Twins Games 125: Lineups and First Impressions

The Minnesota Twins are set to square off in game two of their series with the Cleveland Indians tonight.  Fresh off a curious decision by Ron Gardenhire and a 7-5 loss, the Twins will be looking to bounce back.

Offensively, the Twins opened last night with a five run first inning, but the bats went cold the rest of the way.  On the mound, Ricky Nolasco will look to deliver a strong performance for the Twins.  Opposing him for the Indians will be recently reinserted starter, T.J. House.

Here is how both team will look tonight:

Cleveland Indians (63-61)

Michael Bourn CF

Jose Ramirez SS

Michael Brantley LF

Carlos Santana 1B

Jason Kipnis 2B

Zach Walters DH

Mike Aviles 3B

Chris Dickerson RF

Roberto Perez C

• T.J. House P

Minnesota Twins (55-69)

Danny Santana CF

Brian Dozier 2B

Joe Mauer 1B

Kennys Vargas DH

Oswaldo Arcia RF

Trevor Plouffe 3B

Eduardo Escobar SS

Eric Fryer C

Jordan Schafer LF

• Ricky Nolasco P

First Impressions:

• The Twins go with the same lineup as last night, except with Fryer behind the plate.  Schafer is in the lineup and still Santana stays in center field.
• Ron Gardenhire is already on the hot seat thanks to how his team has performed, he really needs to stop shooting himself in the foot with boneheaded strategical decisions of his own.
• Oswaldo Arcia has hit home runs in three straight games, will he make it four tonight?
• Rick Nolasco needs a turnaround performance in the worst way, hopefully tonight marks the start of what his potential suggests him to be.

Game Details:

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