The Twins' home opener at Target Field on Monday went about as well as anyone could have possibly imagined. The weather was beautiful, the stadium majestic and the team crisp in a convincing victory over the Boston Red Sox. Today, in the Twins' second game their new ballpark, things didn't go quite as well.
Rain began falling in the early innings, and at times it poured on the hapless fans. Over the course of the entire game, the sun only once or twice crept through the overcast skies. At one point, a container of napkins apparently spilled in one of the outfield concession stands, and the gusting winds carried them onto the field, raining them over Michael Cuddyer's head like debris from a tornado. Rainfall mucked up the pitcher's mound, causing stoppages in play and frustration for each team's hurlers. Kevin Slowey struggled once again to find his command (and was hardly aided by an incredibly inconsistent strike zone) while the offense failed to come up with big hits against John Lackey. As a result, the Twins never led and ultimately fell to the Red Sox 6-3, marking their first ever loss at Target Field.
Yet, even the dreary loss left plenty of positives for Twins fans to mull over. Denard Span, who has slumped out of the gates, went hitless but managed to draw four walks. Delmon Young kept up his hot early swinging with a 3-for-4 day that included a pair of doubles. Michael Cuddyer hit his first home run. And while he clearly didn't have his best stuff, Slowey still kept the Twins in the game and did manage to notch five strikeouts in his five innings of work.
The Twins entered this game hitting .239 with runners in scoring position and today they went 2-for-13 in those spots. That the Twins are putting this many runners on base to begin with is a good sign. The big hits just haven't been coming, but eventually they will.