After a three-game losing streak, the Twins finally got back on the winning side with a 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Scott Baker started off slow, and put the Twins down early. He did however manage to turn things around and pick up the victory. The offense scattered their runs and after the fourth inning, never trailed.

Scott Baker made his first start of the season, and while the first two innings weren't the best, Baker turned things around for a solid outing. Baker's final line was 6.2 innings, seven hits, three runs and two strikeouts. After the first two innings, things didn't look good. Baker had already thrown forty-one pitches and allowed three runs. But he managed to settle down and go 4.2 more innings thanks to his five-pitch inning to keep his pitch-count low.

The bullpen was great after Baker, with Pat Neshek and Joe Nathan taking the mound. Neshek finished up the small jam in the seventh, and then pitched a solid eighth inning, picking up one strikeout along the way. The Twins handed Joe Nathan a one run lead and the ball for the ninth inning, and he converted his second save in as many chances.

The offense scored right after the Royals in the first, and stuck with them before finally taking the lead in the bottom half of the fourth inning. The shining star for the Twins was easily Carlos Gomez. Gomez went 3-4 with two infield singles, a double, two steals and two runs. Not only did Gomez hit the ball, but he also sparked the offense when they needed it, single-handily putting himself in scoring position with his speed. Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer bat second and third after Gomez, and they were the other two bright spots as the only other players with multiple hits. Other notable hitters were Justin Morneau (first hit), Mike Lamb and Matt Tolbert.

The lone bad part in the win was Cuddyer leaving the game after his second hit with what is being called a dislocated finger. He is scheduled for X-Rays and there is no word on if a DL stint will be needed.

For more stats, check out the Box Score.

The Twins are now on a three-game skid after another close loss to the Los Angeles Angels today 5-4. The starting pitching was far from spectacular, and the offense didn't get going until late. The Twins did manage a comeback in the late innings, but never took the lead. With the loss, the Twins are now 1-3 on the season heading into a weekend series with the Kansas City Royals.

Kevin Slowey took the mound looking to take the Twins to a series split. His start was anything but good, as he lasted just 3.1 innings. In his outing, Slowey allowed four hits, three runs and struck out two. Slowey left the game so early with a bicep strain, and it isn't clear how long he'll be out.

After Slowey, Brian Bass made his second appearance of the season. He put the Twins down further in a decent 3.1 innings of work. In his outing, Bass allowed three hits and two runs. Both runs were scored on two separate homeruns. Juan Rincon, Matt Guerrier and Dennys Reyes pitched next and held the Angels scoreless. Rincon pitched a scoreless inning and the other two each pitch two scoreless outs.

The offense didn't start until the bottom of the sixth, scoring for the first time in fourteen innings. The Twins finished with four runs when it was all said and done, but still fell short of the comeback. Jason Kubel launched the team's first homerun of the season in the eighth and went 1-4 overall. Carlos Gomez and Joe Mauer each collected multiple hits with Gomez going 2-5 and Mauer 2-3. The other hits in the game came from Delmon Young, Brendan Harris and Adam Everett. Justin Morneau drew a walk and collected an RBI, but is still hit-less on the season.

For more stats, make sure to check out the Box Score.

The Twins were shutout more than any other team last season, and they started that trend again in 2008 with a 1-0 loss to the Angels. Nick Blackburn made his first big-league start and looked great, better than Hernandez. But the offense struggled all night, wasting opportunity after opportunity smacking the ball into the ground.

Blackburn pitched for the Twins last September out of the bullpen, but tonight made his first ever major league start. The start was impressive to say the least, Blackburn went seven innings and allowed five hits, one run and one walk while also collecting six strikeouts along the way. The lone run came on a wild pitch that bounced funny away from Redmond. Unfortunately, Blackburn took the loss because of the lack of hitting.

The bullpen was good after Blackburn exited. There were some tough moments in the last few innings, but overall they managed to work their way out of them. Matt Guerrier was on first, and struggled. He lasted just one out of the eighth and allowed two hits and a walk. Fortunately for him, Reyes came on with the bases loaded and one out, and on one pitch got a double play. Neshek pitched the ninth and kept the Twins in the game with another solid outing.

The offense for the Twins should have probably stayed home, because they didn't show up to play anyways. The Twins managed just four hits over the course of nine innings, and let opportunity after opportunity to break open the game slip away. In each of the last four innings, the Twins lead-off man got on base. However, in three of those innings, the next batter grounded into a double play. Each time, going from an opportunity to score to a two-out inning ender. Carlos Gomez, Michael Cuddyer, Nick Punto and Matt Tolbert (first career) collected the team's four singles.

The one good thing from the team on this terrible loss was two awesome defensive plays. Morneau made one in which he dove, stopped the ball and then flipped it behind his back for the out. The other might be the best of the year for the Twins when everything is done. Punto made the second base play from a year ago, only this time at third. He barehanded a bunt, and threw to first for the out as he flew through the air.

For more of the very few stats, check out the Box Score and FanGraph.

One night after picking up their first win of the season, the Twins were handed their first defeat by a score of 9-1. Boof Bonser started off slow, and the Twins fell behind early. They never really got going, and no matter how well Boof would have pitched, it would have been tough to win with the offensive production.

Boof Bonser lost somewhere near thirty pounds in hopes that he'd be able to go deeper into games. In his first appearance, Bonser went six innings and was decent overall. In his six innings, Bonser allowed 8 hits, 4 runs (3 earned) and struck out 4. It was a decent outing, but he still has a lot to improve on after he left a lot of balls up in the zone early on.

The bullpen didn't keep the Twins close after Bonser left. Jesse Crain was in for the first time in nearly a full year, and was decent. Crain went two-thirds of an inning and allowed a hit, a walk and a run which was allowed by Reyes who relieved Crain. After Reyes came in and allowed a hit, Brian Bass was brought in to make his debut. Bass went 1.1 innings and allowed 3 hits, 2 runs and a walk. It was far from a good outing for Bass, but not terrible for his first. Rincon pitched the final inning, and in his first time out this season, got hit hard. His final line was 1 inning, 2 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs.

Offensively, it was a bad night for the Twins. Delmon Young collected multiple hits for the second day in a row. Young went 3-4 on the night, and now has five hits in just two games. Other than Young, there weren't a lot of hits, in fact, the Twins recorded just five others. Carlos Gomez collected another hit along with Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Joe Mauer and Adam Everett. Justin Morneau went 0-4 on the night, as is now the only starter hitless on the season.

For more stats, make sure to check out the Box Score and the FanGraph.

The Twins minor league affiliates have announced their rosters for the most part, and the Organization Board has been updated from AA to the Majors. As other rosters are decided, we'll try to get the rest up by the end of the week.

We had a great thread for yesterday's game with nearly one-hundred postings. If you'd like to talk during the game, make sure to head over into the forum with the link above.

The Twins started the season on the right track, taking an Opening Day victory over Torii Hunter and the Los Angeles Angels by a final score of 3-2. It was the perfect all-around game for the Twins, from the hitting, to the pitching and even the base-running, it was a solid performance for the new look Twins.

Livan Hernandez took the hill for the first time in a Twins uniform, and looked great. When Hernandez is on the mound, he gets right down to work, and looks very comfortable. Livan's final line was 7 innings, 2 runs and 1 strikeout. More impressive than the seven innings and just two allowed runs was that Hernandez went through the outing with just 84 pitches thrown. If Twins pitchers can go late this season like Livan did tonight, especially with the lead, the bullpen will lock up the win more times than not.

The bullpen was just as solid after Hernandez left. Pat Neshek was on for the eighth, and after striking out the first two hitters, he ran into a small jam with Vlad at the plate and a runner on second. Nonetheless, Neshek struck out Guerrero on a full count offering. Nathan picked up his first save of his new contract and the new season. Joe got a quick out and then struck out Hunter for out number two. He did allow a single on a weakly hit ball half way down the line, but got Howie Kendrick to ground-out to end the game.

Offensively, the new guys stepped up in their first games in the Dome. Carlos Gomez was the offensive star, going 2-3 with a double, a single, a walk, two steals and two runs. His speed helped put him in scoring position which eventually led to RBI hits by his teammates. Delmon Young and Brendan Harris each collected multiple hits as well in their Twin debuts. Other key hitters on the night were Joe Mauer, Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer and Mike Lamb.

For more in-depth stats, check out the Box Score and the FanGraph.