Twins-Seattle series preview
April 8, 2021 at 3:55AM
All games on BSN, 830-AM
Thursday, 3:10 p.m.: RHP Jose Berrios (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Marco Gonzalez (0-0, 7.50)
Saturday, 1:10 p.m.: RHP Michael Pineda (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-0, 4.50)
Sunday, 1:10 p.m.: RHP Matt Shoemaker (1-0, 1.50) vs. RHP Chris Flexen (1-0, 0.00)
MARINERS update
LHP James Paxton had an eagle land on his shoulder before starting the 2018 Target Field opener vs. the Twins, but strained his forearm Tuesday and will miss this series. … OF Jake Fraley (hamstring) is also out. … Gonzalez, the Opening Day starter, was 7-2 last season and led the AL in lowest walk ratio per nine innings (seven walks in 69⅔ innings). … Kikuchi, who came over from Japan in 2019, had a career-high 10 strikeouts in his first outing. … Flexen pitched in Korea last year. He pitched five scoreless innings in his season debut.
Twins update
It's the second home opener start for Berrios, who beat Cleveland 2-0 in 2019 with 7⅔ shutout innings. He pitched six no-hit innings at Milwaukee on Saturday with 12 K's. … 3B Josh Donaldson (hamstring) and OF Brent Rooker (neck) are out. … DH Nelson Cruz and CF Byron Buxton have three homers each through six games. … Shoemaker will make his career high-tying 16th appearances vs. Seattle.
THE QUOTE
"It's going to be special. One year without fans in the stands — we've been playing so hard and giving 100 percent, but now we're going to have fans cheering for us, making it loud the first day with a lot of excitement." — Berrios.
Chris Miller
about the writer
Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, the brash speedster who shattered stolen base records and redefined baseball's leadoff position, has died. He was 65.
