Twins 11, Marlins 1: Offense Explodes with 4 Home Runs and Mahle Cruises in Win – Twins

Box Score
SP: Tyler Mahle: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (83 pitches, 53 strikes (63.8%)
Home Runs: Max Kepler (1), Joey Gallo (3), Trevor Larnach (1), Ryan Jeffers (1)
Top 3 WPA: Joey Gallo (0.124), Tyler Mahle (0.110), Max Kepler (0.109)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Minnesota Twins fans saw the new guy, Pablo Lopez, start the season opener in Kansas City. On Monday night, as part of the season’s second series, fans got to see the old guy, Luis Arraez. Coming into the series, Arraez has been performing very well, collecting nine hits for a .563 average and a 1.213 OPS. His old teammates will try to slow him down while visiting Miami, and Tyler Mahle got the first crack at the task Monday. 

Kepler’s first hit, first home run
Plenty of attention has been pointed in Max Kepler’s direction to see if he can get his bat back on track in 2023. The results weren’t good throughout the weekend in Kansas City, but the trip to Miami must have done something as Kepler hit a 411-foot home run off of Johnny Cueto to get things started in the first inning. 

That home run was Kepler’s 14th career leadoff home run. Kepler collected another hit in the form of an infield single. On the close play at first, Kepler visibly grimaced and was removed from the game with knee discomfort. Hopefully the move was an exercise of caution with the Twins holding a sizable lead. 

Offense doesn’t stop there 
The offense didn’t stop in the second inning. Miranda walked, and Gordon collected his first hit, a single, to put runners on the corners. Then Joey Gallo continued his hit streak like he never left Kansas City. He hit another three-run bomb to put the Twins up 4-0. 

After Cueto was removed from the game with injury concerns (sounds like a bicep injury), Jeff Lindgren stepped on the mound for the Marlins in his major-league debut. After some success getting several Twins batters to pop out, Trevor Larnach welcomed the Marlins righty to the big leagues with his first career triple, scoring Byron Buxton. Larnach added a two-run home run in the seventh inning and finished the game 2-for-5 with three RBIs.  

Carlos Correa, whose bat lacked production in the Twins first three games, also joined the hit parade. As the Twins figured out Lindgren, Correa added his own two-run double, which gave the Twins an 8-0 lead in the fourth inning. Correa went 2-for-4 Monday evening after adding another single.  

Mahle continues pitching parade
The storyline over opening weekend was how good the Twins starting pitchers were. Tyler Mahle continued that trend Monday night. He tossed five innings and gave up only one run. He threw 83 pitches and struck out seven batters. The right-hander ran his fastball up to 95.4 mph and induced nine swings and misses while also freezing a couple of Marlins hitters as part of his seven strikeouts. 

Mahle did get a bit shaky in the fifth inning as eventually none other than Arraez got to Mahle for the Marlins lone run. Arraez singled to right field to score outfielder Bryan De La Cruz. Even with the run scored, it was good to see Mahle pitch well after his season was cut short by an injury last season. 

Two Innings from Alcala
There are many hopes for Alcala to claim a valuable role in the Twins bullpen, and Monday evening, he was given two innings of work to prove that he is back and ready to contribute. His first inning (the sixth inning) included a single stuck between three strikeouts. The 10-1 lead and a desire to save other bullpen arms must have given Rocco Baldelli confidence as he gave Alcala a second inning. 

The inning started rocky as De La Cruz hit a double over Willi Castro’s head in left field. Thankfully, the Twins took advantage of some aggressive baserunning and threw the outfielder out at third base. Alcala was able to go on to induce two harmless ground balls for outs.

Cole Sands made his 2023 debut Monday night after the Twins very much had the game in hand. Sands didn’t give up any runs but allowed plenty of batters to reach base, even loaded the bases in the 8th inning. Sands did rebound in the 9th with an inning that was much more comfortable although, allowing two singles along the way. Sands ended with 28 pitches, five hits, no walks, and one strikeout.

What’s Next? 
In the second game of the series, we will see the first regular-season action from Kenta Maeda since August of 2021. It will be an excellent test for the veteran starter after an up-and-down spring training. The Twins bats will also be tested as the Marlins send Sandy Alcantara to the mound. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner gave up three runs in his first outing of the season to the New York Mets, but the righty was a 2.28 ERA pitcher last season. Game time is set for 5:40 p.m. central time. 

Postgame Interviews

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