The announced crowd of 36,783 fans started rising to its feet and getting loud during Jose Altuve’s ninth-inning at-bat. Already, the Houston Astros’ nine-time All-Star had struck out four times.
Near the end of what turned out to be a 5-2 loss to Houston during the Twins’ home opener at Target Field, Minnesota pitchers were looking to do something never done before to Altuve — strike him out five times in a game.
“First time I haven’t been able to hear the PitchCom out there, so that was kind of new,” Twins reliever Darren McCaughan said. “I think it just kind of locks me in.”
On the seventh pitch of their duel, McCaughan, who pitched the final two innings of Thursday’s game, caught Altuve looking, giving him a rare, undesirable platinum sombrero.
Twins starter Joe Ryan started the job, getting Altuve to chase a pitch out of the zone for the first out of the game. He got him swinging again in the third and once more in the fifth on another pitch out of the zone. Reliever Jorge Alcala was responsible for Altuve’s fourth strikeout of the game, getting him in the seventh inning on a 98.7 mph fastball.
Altuve, for reference, isn’t particularly strikeout prone. He’s now in his 16th season and just once has he fanned more than 100 times in a season, making the Twins’ feat even more impressive.
“I figured the crowd was going crazy for a reason,” McCaughan said. “I saw him strike out a few times. I didn’t know the exact number on it, but yeah, I was seeing him swing and miss when I was sitting down in the bullpen.”
Cruz returns
Rocco Baldelli doesn’t often catch ceremonial first pitches, that job often falling to someone else. But on Thursday, in the minutes before the opener, the manager squatted down behind home plate to receive a pitch from Nelson Cruz.
Cruz, who played for the Twins for parts of three seasons between 2019-21, bounced the ball, after which Baldelli embraced his former player. He retired after the 2023 season and now is a special advisor for baseball pperations for Major League Baseball.
“It was like having an uncle who happened to be one of the five best hitters in the world,” Baldelli said. “There’s a lot to look towards when you look towards Nelson Cruz’s locker. When you’re looking for him, you’re not just looking for the designated hitter — you’re looking for someone that’s going to show you the way, that’s going to do it the right way.”
Briefly
After an off day on Friday, Bailey Ober will take the ball on Saturday, looking to move past a tough start to the season in which he gave up eight runs in less than three innings pitched. He will be opposed by Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti. … The Twins have lost consecutive home openers for the first time since the 2015-16 seasons.
