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Good afternoon Twins fans and welcome back to more Game Thread fun! Well the big news that most everyone has already heard is Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson will be leaving the organization after Thursday's game against Cleveland to be the new pitching coach at LSU. I can't believe he would leave in the middle of the season but I guess he has his reasons. I suspect he wants to get there sooner in order to recruit new players to LSU. I've read he will be making more money but I doubt that was the reason. I know its all speculation at this point but I bet the MLB schedule, being away from family played a role. He might just like the amateur ranks more than the pro ranks...I guess we will find out later if it even matters. I hate to see him go but "it is what it is"....Pete Maki is being promoted and will take the place of Wes on Friday. Good luck Pete! We need this staff sharp for October! The Twins kick off a big 4 game series against division rival Cleveland tonight. With a 2 game lead over Cleveland it would be nice to see the Twins have a 6 game lead after Thursday's final contest. Cleveland has been in a mini-slump since leaving Minnesota last week and have lost 4 games in a row. Taking the mound tonight for the Twins is Sonny Gray (3-1, 2.53 ERA). Sonny will be pitching against Cleveland righty Triston McKenzie (4-5, 3.51 ERA). After the news of Wes Johnson leaving the Twins it will be interesting to see how the pitching staff responds. I read that Wes was a huge influence on Sonny getting his confidence back this year. Apologies for posting the Game Thread so early but I need to leave for a fishing trip this afternoon. "Need to leave" is maybe a little dramatic but if I don't get out of the office for a little break I may pull a Wes Johnson and leave for good....Heading to the upper Mississippi River north of Deerwood, MN to hammer some small mouth bass and walleye. I will be listening to the game on the radio in the boat though! I tried to post the lineups but at 2:30 only Cleveland had theirs posted...If someone could post the Twins lineup for me I'll send some frozen walleye fillets to your house. Let's go Twins!!! Today's Lineups: TWINS (41-33): TBD CLEVELAND (36-32): 1. Steven Kwan, LF 2. Amed Rosario, SS 3. Jose Ramirez, 3B 4. Josh Naylor, 1B 5. Oscar Gonzalez, RF 6. Andres Gimenez, 2B 7. Owen Miller, DH 8. Luke Maile, C 9. Myles Straw, CF SP - Triston McKenzie, (RHP) Weather: Game time temperature 74 degrees and sunny. 0% chance of rain. Wind 12mph blowing L-R.

Good evening Twins fans and welcome back to more Game Thread fun! Have you ever attended a MLB game and sat next to some over zealous fans? Did you sit next to fans that were knowledgable about the game and the teams that were playing? The Game Thread experience is all about that and more... As Twins fans this is our forum to debate and play arm chair quarterback. Don't be shy! Speak up and tell us your opinion about a specific play, umpire mistake or coaching move...Most of the Moderators on the site allow a little bit more leeway in what people say during the Game Thread. Please don't swear but remember, games that start this late a majority of Mods are asleep or 8 beers into the evening. Now for the game information: The Twins kick off a 3 game series against the NL West Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks are 11 games behind the NL West leader San Diego Padres. Arizona has a 30-35 record (.462 winning average). The Twins are 37-28 (.569 winning average) with a 2 game lead over Cleveland. The Twins starter tonight is lefty Devin Smeltzer (3-0, 2.38 ERA) going up against Arizona southpaw Madison Bumgarner (2-6, 3.50 ERA). The lineup looks good for the Twins tonight. I foresee a lot of runs for the good guys. Bumgarner has not been as sharp as he has looked in the past. Tune in and find out what happens. Grab a favorite beverage and cheer for the Minnesota Twins today! Don't forget to share your opinions and participate in the Game Thread fun tonight! The Moderators will be asleep...trust me! Tonight's lineups: Minnesota Twins: 1. Byron Buxton, DH 2. Carlos Correa, SS 3. Gio Urshela, 3B 4. Gary Sanchez, C 5. Luis Arraez, 2B 6. Jose Miranda, 1B 7. Max Kepler, RF 8. Gilberto Celestino, CF 9. Trevor Larnach, LF SP - Devin Smeltzer (LHP) Arizona Diamondbacks: 1. Carson Kelly, C 2. Josh Rojas, 3B 3. Jordan Luplow, LF 4. C. Walker, 1B 5. Daulton Varsho, RF 6. Buddy Kennedy, DH 7. Alek Thomas, CF 8. Jake Hager, 2B 9. Geraldo Perdomo, SS SP - Madison Bumgarner (LHP) Weather: Hot! Like really hot.....106 degrees. Zero chance of rain.

Good afternoon Twins fans and welcome back to more Game Thread fun! Yesterday's game was fun to watch and almost got out of hand but in the end the Twins prevailed. As I posted on yesterdays game recap, Ryan and Duran are going to be exciting to watch. Unfortunately, Buxton had to leave early due to a right knee strain. According to the Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Buxton isn't believed to have suffered any structural damage but may be off for a week or so. Phil Miller of the Star Tribune reported that the Twins do not intend to make a roster move which hopefully means the injury is minor. What excitement will be in store for today's game? Not really sure but Sonny Gray takes the mound against Boston hurler Tanner Houck (0-0) 8.10 ERA. I suspect the Twins are going to light this kid up. I predict an early exit for Tanner as Sonny gives us hopefully 6 or more "Snapper Mow em' Down" innings. Speaking of lighting up, tomorrow is Easter Sunday. I plan on firing up the Big Green Egg to grill a leg of lamb. Throw in some cheesy potatoes, asparagus and garlic bread and I'll have the makings of a small feast. The price of the lamb was crazy by the way......my grocery bill looks like I'm feeding 50 people vs. 6 people. I hope you enjoy your Easter celebrations tomorrow! Let's smoke the Red Sox today! Today's lineups: TWINS: 1. Luis Arraez, DH 2. Jorge Polanco, 2B 3. C. Correa, SS 4. Max Kepler, RF 5. T. Larch, LF 6. Gio Urshela, 3B 7. Nick Gordon, CF 8. Miguel Sano, 1B 9. Ryan Jeffers, C SP - Sonny Gray, (R) 0-0, 3.86 ERA RED SOX: 1. E Hernandez, CF 2. R. Devers, 3B 3. X. Bogaerts, SS 4. J. Martinez, DH 5. Alex Verdugo, LF 6. Trevor Story, 2B 7. Bobby Dalbec, 1B 8. J. Bradley, RF 9. C. Vazquez, C SP - Tanner Houck, (R) 0-0, 8.10ERA Weather: Cloudy and 62 degrees with a 15mph wind blowing out

Good morning Twins fans and welcome back to more Game Thread fun! It was so nice seeing the Twins play again yesterday! I hate that we lost but one game in the scheme of things doesn't really matter this time of year. However, I really believe we have a strong foundation and a group of players that will compete well this year. I'm still standing by my prediction that the Twins will win the AL Central this year. By the way, I love this time of year in Minnesota. We have the Masters on TV, the weather is warming, the ice is melting off the lakes, the grass is beginning to green, MLB is starting up and hope "springs" eternal for my favorite team the Minnesota Twins. It will be interesting to see how Sonny Gray stacks up today against this Mariner's offense. Hopefully his first start as a Minnesota Twin will result in a big W! How will the rest of the bullpen do? Will our offense start seeing the ball and make more contact? Will the dynamic duo of Buxton and Correa become the most dangerous one-two punch in MLB? Well, pull up a chair, crack a beer or your favorite beverage and tune in to find out. Today's game is gonna be a good one! Speaking of ice melting...Here are some fast facts on one of Minnesota's most celebrated lakes, Lake Minnetonka. Ice-out on Lake Minnetonka is declared when officials can boat through all channels and bays without being obstructed by ice. The earliest ice-out was March 11, 1878. The latest ice-out was May 5, 1857. The average ice-out date historically has been April 17th, 18th and 19th. The median ice-out date is April 14th (half of ice-outs are before that date and half are after that date). Coincidentally, for many years the latest ice-out date was attributed to May 8th, 1856. The Minnesota Climatology Working Group raised questions about the accuracy of that date based on temperature records showing that April 1856 was very warm. My guess is we will have ice-out on Lake Minnetonka April 15th this year. I can hardly wait to start Crappie fishing in a few weeks! Just like I can hardly wait to see this Minnesota Twins franchise win another World Series. Win Twins! Today's Lineups: MINNESOTA TWINS: 1. Byron Buxton, CF 2. Luis Arraez, 3B 3. C. Correa, SS 4. J. Polanco, 2B 5. Alex Kirilloff, DH 6. Miguel Sano, 1B 7. Max Kepler, RF 8. Ryan Jeffers, C 9. Nick Gordon, LF SP - Sonny Gray (R) SEATTLE MARINERS 1. Adam Frazier, 2B 2. Ty France, 1B 3. Jesse Winker, DH 4. M. Haniger, RF 5. Abraham Toro, 3B 6. J. Kelenic, LF 7. J. Rodriguez, CF 8. J. Crawford, SS 9. Tom Murphy, C SP - Logan Gilbert (R) Weather: Sunny and warming up to a balmy 50 degrees. Wind blowing out today at about 3mph.