The Twins held out hope that at least one game with the White Sox could be played in Minneapolis this weekend. But even Target Field's heated field is no match for a blizzard.
Twins call off Saturday and Sunday games because of snowstorm
No makeup dates have been announced for the three games snowed-out against the White Sox.
Saturday's 1:10 p.m. game was postponed in the morning, with the Twins optimistically announcing that Lance Lynn would be the starting pitcher for Sunday's series finale. By mid-afternoon, as the snowstorm made travel untenable and occupied the city's police force with more important considerations, the Twins gave up, declaring the season-opening homestand over after playing just six of 10 scheduled games.
At least the Twins know warmer weather is ahead: They leave Sunday, assuming the airport reopens, for San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they play the Indians on Tuesday. But by the time they arrive to play the Rays in St. Petersburg next Friday, the Twins will have played a mere 13 games in the season's first 22 days. This weekend is the first time since Target Field opened in 2010 that three consecutive games have been called off by weather. Not since 2014 had the Twins lost back-to-back games; steady rain and an off day idled the Twins for three straight days from April 27-29. Last year was the first time that four Target Field games in one season were lost to weather, a mark that the team has now matched in the last week alone. No makeup dates have been announced for any of the three consecutive White Sox games that were scuttled by the snow. The White Sox return June 5-7, and both teams have June 4 off. The teams also close the season at Target Field on Sept. 28-30. Tickets for the postponed games may be used for the makeup games, or exchanged at the Target Field box office for any other game. The Twins will have to reshuffle their pitching rotation, too. Lynn, for instance, has only pitched twice in 2018. Jose Berrios, who beat Chicago on Thursday, is the last starter to pitch, but the Twins plan to have him start one of next week's games in his homeland.
Major League Baseball switched a pair of series involving the Tampa Bay Rays to the first two months of the season in an attempt to avoid summer rain at open-air Steinbrenner Field, their temporary home following damage to Tropicana Field.