The bitter cold threatened to steal the show on Opening Day for the Minnesota Twins, but an independent-thinking eagle that attacked Seattle Mariners starter James Paxton before the first pitch thought otherwise.
There was Paxton, a Canadian, standing tall, unwavering as the bird of prey threatened to end his start before he threw the first pitch. Had it been Mike Leake, Saturday’s starter, it may have just taken him away.
“That was a classic,” said manager Paul Molitor. “I think you try to imagine if you were in that position if you’d be able to be as calm.
“He was ignoring the whistle, that’s for sure, because we could hear it loud and clear at the mound -- I don’t know. It made for a nice moment and entertaining moment.”
For five innings, the Twins probably hoped the eagle could have hauled Paxton off.
The 6’4”, 235-pound lefty, who entered the game with a two-run lead thanks to a Miguel Sano error and a Daniel Vogelbach RBI, struck out seven and held Minnesota scoreless through five innings. But it was Sano who ultimately chased him with a game-tying two-run bomb in the sixth.
Mitch Garver and Eddie Rosario homered in the seventh and eighth off of Dan Altavilla and Nick Vincent, respectively, to seal the Opening Day win for the Twins.
“A really good win,” said Molitor, who made a point of thanking the grounds crew for clearing the snow off the field before the game. “It didn't start out particularly well.
“We gave up a couple in the first, actually we had a lot of good pitches. We had a chance to come out a little bit cleaner, but we gave up a couple on a 2-0 changeup to Vogelbach for the second run.
“Got a little cold as the game went on, but we pulled out a good win.”
It was 38 degrees (Fahrenheit) at 3:09 pm, when the first pitch was thrown, and did not get warmer as the day went along. The sellout crowd stayed in their seats for the whole game, and Target Field was loud as ever for a team that went 3-2 on their road trip to begin the season.
The two losses came on the home opener for the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively. The Twins kick off a 12-game homestand with a win, and while the players are happy to be playing in their home ballpark until April 18 after starting the season on the road, some of them openly wondered why they were playing Seattle and Houston here to start the year when both the Mariners and Astros play in stadiums that can be closed -- a fair point.
But all things considered, it was an Opening Day to remember.
When a baseball game is played in winter conditions, culminating in a comeback win for the Twins fueled by three home run, and the dominant narrative is a rogue eagle -- that’s one hell of a way to kick off a homestand.
More Twins Analysis on Midwest Swing & Locked On Twins
Think you could write a story like this? Hockey Wilderness wants you to develop your voice, find an audience, and we'll pay you to do it. Just fill out this form.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.