Twins lose season opener to Robbie Ray, Mariners 2-1

Rocco Baldelli's mind immediately pictured a thrilling victory. Mariners manager Scott Servais was holding his breath. Tyler Duffey, after glancing at the board that displayed launch angle and exit velocity, quickly did the math.

And the Twins hitter with the bat in his hand — did he believe, with his new home crowd chanting his name, that he had just authored one of the most dramatic Opening Day victories in Twins history?

Gary Sanchez closed his eyes, dropped his head, and nodded "yes."

"I thought it was gone," Sanchez said with a shrug, "but today wasn't the day."

Not quite. Plenty went right for the Twins on Friday, but the big finish fell a couple of feet short. Mariners left fielder Jesse Winker caught Sanchez's potential walkoff homer with his back to the wall, and the Twins lost on Opening Day for the second year in a row, 2-1 to the Seattle Mariners at sunny but chilly Target Field.

Gio Urshela, acquired with Sanchez from the Yankees in March, did reach the seats in his Minnesota debut, but the Twins managed only three other hits, all singles, the rest of the way, losing for the 11th time in their past 14 Opening Days. Twice the Twins put two runners aboard ahead of Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa, but that pair went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

"Those are the guys we want up there in those spots," Baldelli said. "We got what we wanted. We'll take our chances every time with Buck and Correa coming up."

Trouble is, after a springtime frenzy of pitching-staff construction, the Twins got a lesson from the Mariners about how it can be done much simpler: Just sign the Cy Young Award winner.

Newly armed with the American League's best pitcher of 2021, Seattle smothered a Twins offense that had been gaining momentum as spring training went on. But Robbie Ray went seven strong innings, never gave up more than one hit in any of them, and forced two rally-killing double plays.

"It's impressive what he does," Baldelli said of Ray, who signed a five-year, $115 million contract with the Mariners in November, shortly after winning the 2021 Cy Young with Toronto. "He has great stuff, first of all, but he has some deception and guys just don't pick it up. … It's a challenge because he owns the inner third of the plate."

Correa's introduction to his new team wasn't as dramatic as Urshela's, but he made a strong positive impression. He singled off Ray in his first at-bat, made a diving stop of a Jesse Winker grounder and turned it into a force out in the third inning, and leaped to reach an Adam Frazier line drive in the ninth. But Correa also killed a third-inning rally by hitting into a double play.

Joe Ryan, who joined Tom Hall in 1969 as Twins rookie pitchers to start on Opening Day, appeared nervous but effective in his four-inning performance. He hit the second batter he faced, plunking Ty France on the elbow, then gave up a two-run homer to Mitch Haniger, Seattle's cleanup hitter, to fall behind 2-0 only four batters in.

But Ryan gave up only one single after that, and easily pitched out of trouble caused by his career-high four walks, a likely sign of nervousness.

"Just too much nibbling," Ryan said after his 70-pitch outing. "I just try to be a little too fine sometimes, but whatever. … I settled in after that first inning."

So did the Twins bullpen, which held the Mariners scoreless for five innings. Jhoan Duran struck out four batters in his impressive two-inning major league debut, while Jorge Alcala and Danny Coulombe also kept Mariners hitters off-balance, giving the Twins an opportunity to try to pull off their first Opening Day walkoff since Shannon Stewart slugged a three-run, 11th-inning homer at the Metrodome in 2004.

Luis Arraez, pinch hitting for Urshela, led off the ninth with a single, but Mariners closer Drew Steckenrider got Miguel Sano to pop up and then struck out Alex Kirilloff. Sanchez, with the crowd of 35,462 — smallest for a non-COVID home opener in Target Field history — chanting "Gar-y, Gar-y", worked the count to 3-2, then jumped at a low curveball across the middle.

The anticipation was exquisite. The roar was deafening. But the ball was a foot or two short.

"One hundred percent, I thought it was going to go out," Correa said.

Agreed Servais, in the other dugout, "The trajectory of the ball and knowing who hit it, you're holding your breath."

"It was a good moment to experience," Sanchez said. "… Almost."