After an inexcusable 59 win – 103 loss season in 2016, today is critical for the Minnesota Twins in all three phases of the game, with pitching being the biggest one of them all. Do the Twins have the art of pitching, as my good friend from the Tigers radio network, Jim Price, likes to talk about every time in a Tigers broadcast? We are about to find out. The Twins can ill afford to start the season off again with a nine game losing streak.
When the Twins face Mike Moustakas today, who is coming off a severe injury that cost him the majority of his season last year, I am expecting the Moose to be ready to go. The Twins pitching needs to be able to throw strikes early in the count. They should not be afraid to hammer the ball inside on any of the Royals hitters, because if you let them extend their arms, it is going to be all she wrote for the Twins pitching staff. The starters need to get into the seventh inning and not wear out the bullpen by the All Star break.
On the offensive side of things, the Twins need to be very aggressive and make the Royals pitching work hard. The Twins can’t let the Royals pitchers get in a groove, they need to be on “Target” with their hitting. Joe Mauer needs to bring Mauer power not only today, but all season long. The young core of Twins batters of Buxton, Sano, Rosario, and Kepler need to improve their hitting also, by putting the ball in play more instead of walking back to the dugout after striking out and sitting back down next to Manager Paul Molitor.
