KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There were times this spring when Trevor Larnach was unsure whether he’d be starting the season with the Minnesota Twins or the Triple-A Saints. If not for a pair of injuries to Jorge Polanco and Alex Kirilloff, it’s very possible the outfielder could have started in St. Paul.
But with an opportunity in front of him, Larnach seized it with a stellar spring, and on Thursday, he had his fingerprints all over the Twins’ 2-0 win over the Royals in the season opener.
“I think he kind of relishes the opportunities to be out there on Opening Day just to simply be a good big leaguer,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s driven to be great, and I think he sees this as an opportunity to go prove that and show everyone what he can do. It doesn’t bother him, I don’t think at all, hitting him in the four hole on Opening Day. He handled it all great and he hit some balls good.”
With the game tied in the sixth inning Thursday, Larnach shot a single up the middle to bring home Byron Buxton.
He finished his day 2 for 4, driving in one run, scoring the other and also drawing a walk in the win.
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“That felt great for not only me but these guys, to get us going,” he said of his RBI hit. “We heard a stat the other day where like 60% of teams that are on the road get the lead, get out in front and close it right out. That was kind of what I was thinking when I was up there. I just wanted it so bad.”
Though Larnach has been up in the majors in each of the last two seasons, this was the first time he had made the roster out of camp, marking a new milestone in his career.
“Honestly, I felt just pure excitement,” he said of his first Opening Day. “ … I was comfortable. I wish it was at home. That would be pretty electric for us, but we’re on the road. The main thing is we came back. Started off a little slow but got the dub.”
Lopez joins club
With Pablo Lopez’s Opening Day start, all five members of the Twins’ rotation have now drawn the distinction.
Joe Ryan and Kenta Maeda both had the honor for the Twins, Sonny Gray did so for Oakland and Cincinnati and Tyler Mahle also did so for the Reds. The Twins have not had five starters with an Opening Day start on the roster since 1988.
Seems like it’d be somewhat of a rare feat, right?
The last time it happened was … last season. The Colorado Rockies (Ty Blach, Jhoulys Chacín, Kyle Freeland, Chad Kuhl and German Marquez) were the last group to have also accomplished the same.
Briefly
In their first game with the pitch timer, the Twins and Royals finished in 2:32. … Buxton finished the day with a pair of hits, including a triple. … Gray will start the second game of the season after an off day on Friday. He will face off against Jordan Lyles.
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