Arguably for the first time all season, the Minnesota Twins looked really good on Monday night. Turns out the thing the Twins need to be successful is to simply play the Chicago White Sox every single game of the season.
It’s impossible to overstate Minnesota’s offensive struggles so far, which means the 7-0 win just further hammers home how truly awful the White Sox are this year. The Twins are historically bad, but the Sox are somehow even worse and that was on full display in the season opener between the two teams.
The good news was that it served as an opportunity for Chris Paddack to continue getting settled in. He cooked the Sox lineup, striking out 10 batters in seven innings and needing less than 100 pitches to make it happen.
Offensively the Twins got going too, with Max Kepler returning to the lineup after a stint on the IL by going 2-for-4 with three RBI. Chicago is terrible, but the Twins don’t have to worry about being worse and that’s momentum they’ll try to keep building on.
Twins vs. White Sox probable starting pitchers, April 23
If Monday night was any indication of how this first series against the White Sox will go, things are going to swing even harder in Minnesota’s favor tonight. The Twins are sending out Pablo Lopez (1-2, 3.97 ERA) for what could amount to a tune up for the team’s best pitcher.
Lopez has some things to work on, like not allowing first inning home runs, but he’s starting to settle into being the ace Minnesota needs him to be once again. His record is more of a reflection of how poorly he’s been supported by the offense than an indication that he’s slipping. If anything, Lopez has been absolutely dominant all season outside of a few bad pitches that got launched into orbit.
If there was ever a game to fine tune some things, it’s going to be Tuesday night against the worst offense in baseball.
Over on Chicago’s side, the White Sox will be sending out Erick Fedde (1-0, 3.10 ERA) who is actually better than most of the team around him. He has somehow managed to log a win, despite how truly awful the Sox have been on just about every single level.
This will be more about whether the Twins offense can keep getting hot rather than anything else. Chasing a seven run performance will be a huge confidence booster, even more so if it comes against one of the better pitchers on an otherwise horrible team.
Minnesota Twins starting lineup, April 23
- Alex Kirilloff, DH
- Edouard Julien, 2B
- Trevor Larnach, LF
- Max Kepler, RF
- Byron Buxton, CF
- Willi Castro, SS
- Carlos Santana, 1B
- Kyle Farmer, 3B
- Christian Vazquez, C
Chicago White Sox starting lineup, April 23
Tonight's lineup at Target Field: pic.twitter.com/ZT01M1UQhI
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) April 23, 2024
What time is the Minnesota Twins game today?
- Game time: 6:40pm CT
- Date: Sunday, April 23, 2024
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
- Stadium: Target Field
How to watch Minnesota Twins game today?
It’s another doubleheader night for Minnesota Sports, as the Timberwolves are back in action for Game 2 of their series against the Suns. That means the Twins are going to be bumped to Bally Sports North Extra — which really means it’ll be even more impossible to watch them.
Thankfully, there’s more than one way to catch the action.
- Bally Sports website and Bally Sports App
- MLB.tv (subscription required)
- fuboTV (which has a free trial)