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Some guys are Twins Killers. Nick Markakis is a Twins Killer. This is primarily why the Orioles won the season opener today.

It always feels a little glum to start the year with a notch in the righthand column instead of the left, but there's a few games left to go (!).

The positives I saw from this game:

-Pavano going seven innings and throwing pretty well. This is a typical start for Pavano, and I'll take it pretty much every time.

-Solid defense, from what I saw (although a missed some sort of Doumit craziness in right field).

-Willingham's mammoth blast in the ninth. I don't think a Twin crushed a ball like that ALL of 2011.

-Despite being shut down for most of the game, I like how the Twins showed some fight in the last inning. You don't want to get blanked in the opener, and the Twins avoided that and created some excitement heading into Saturday.

The season has begun!!

Preview: 0-1, T-3, 1.0 GB DET; Francisco Liriano vs. Tommy Hunter