Twins' Ryan Shines, Offense Stumbles in Opener

0:00It's March 27th. MLB News. Today starts now. AI powered and game ready. I'm Cory with the story. The Minnesota twins opened their 2026 season with a familiar one-to-two loss against the Baltimore Orioles. Joe Ryan dominated early, tossing five and one-third scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and just one head. But the offense struggled mightily, going one for twelve with runners in scoring position, much like their second worst mark in that category last year. Ryan's new curveball looks sharp, generating plenty of swings and misses on 85 pitches. With Pablo Lopez sidelined, he's stepping up as the rotations leader and already showing mid-season form despite a springback issue. Fans noticed third-year shortstop Brooks Lee's rough day, going over three with two weak strikeouts and a key miss with the bases loaded. His career stats set at 231 average and 0.633 on base plus slugging over 715 played appearances. Plus so part offense last season. Meanwhile, Byron Bucksden provided the highlight,

1:03legging out a triple in the eighth that let him score the twins' lone run on a sacrifice fly. His elite speed could push him toward a league lead in triples this year, building on his career high seven from last season. It's only the first of 162 games, so these early hiccups might fade as the marathon unfolds.