Inside The Twins

Pablo Lopez has up-and-down spring debut as Twins fall to Pirates

The Twins got blown out, but the score is never the interesting part of spring training games.

Will Ragatz

Feb 22, 2025; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez (49) in the dugout during their game against the Atlanta Braves at Lee Health Sports Complex.
Feb 22, 2025; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez (49) in the dugout during their game against the Atlanta Braves at Lee Health Sports Complex. / Chris Tilley-Imagn Images
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The Twins lost 12-1 to the Pirates in Grapefruit League play on Thursday afternoon, but the final score is never the interesting part of spring training games, considering the main big-league players are only out there for a few innings. It's more notable to look at various individual performances and see what stood out.

Rocco Baldelli and Minnesota rolled out a starting lineup that looked pretty close to what we might see on Opening Day in St. Louis exactly four weeks from today.

  • Matt Wallner, DH
  • Carlos Correa, SS
  • Byron Buxton, CF
  • Trevor Larnach, RF
  • Royce Lewis, 3B
  • Willi Castro, 2B
  • Christian Vazquez, C
  • Ty France, 1B
  • Harrison Bader, LF
  • Pablo Lopez, SP

Guys like Ryan Jeffers, Jose Miranda, and Brooks Lee might also have a case, but that group of nine could easily make up a regular season starting lineup for the Twins.

Wallner has hit in the leadoff spot in each of the four spring games he's started so far, which indicates that Baldelli is seriously considering using him there. He's led off just once in his young MLB career, but in 75 games last season, Wallner's .372 OBP trailed only Correa among Twins players and his .523 slugging percentage trailed only Buxton.

The Twins' stars left five guys on base in the first two innings of this game. In the first inning, Lewis struck out looking with two runners on after hits by Buxton and Larnach. In the second, Wallner was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and one out, driving in the only Minnesota run of the day. Correa and Buxton then struck out looking.

Ty France led Twins hitters with two hits and is now 4 for 6 this spring with a home run and two doubles. He and fellow newcomer Harrison Bader have been the Twins' most productive hitters through the first five games.

On the pitching side, Lopez made his spring debut and had an up-and-down day. He struck out the side in the first inning but ran into trouble in the second, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk. Lopez struck out four batters in two innings, he reached 97.1 MPH with his fastball, and his sweeper looked as good as usual, so there's nothing to be too concerned about, even if he gave up a couple hard hits. Lopez is locked in as the Twins' Opening Day starter for the third year in a row.

The two other pitchers on the Twins' 40-man roster who appeared in this game were Jorge Alcala and Cole Sands. Alcala, who thankfully avoided a scary situation on the highway earlier this week, threw a scoreless inning and peaked at 98.5 MPH. Sands had a rough outing, giving up two hits and two walks to the first four batters he faced. He ended up with three runs allowed over two thirds of an inning. But as always, it's just spring training.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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