MINNEAPOLIS -- As Ryne Harper watched the Twins pile on eight runs in the first five innings against the Indians in Sunday's series finale at Target Field, he started stretching and made sure he was loose. He got the feeling that his day had, at long last, arrived.

"I was kind of reading the game," Harper said. "I could tell. I kind of knew ... especially the way the game was going. We were up 8-0, so I was like, 'I think today’s the day.'"

Four days after his 30th birthday -- and nearly two years after he didn't find his way onto the mound in his first callup to the Major Leagues -- the call to the bullpen finally came. Harper made the long trot out from the center-field gate at Target Field for the ninth inning, with the Twins up 9-3, and pitched a scoreless inning in his Major League debut to close out the series victory.

"I’ve obviously dreamed about it happening and I’ve wanted it to happen, but, I mean, I didn’t count on it happening," Harper said. "That’s the sweet thing about this. Everything I’ve dreamed for and worked for in the game and envisioned actually happened."

The 27-pitch outing marked the culmination of an eight-year Minor League career -- a future that Harper said he didn't necessarily envision for himself after he was taken with a 37th-round selection in the 2011 MLB Draft out of Austin Peay State University.

He didn't pitch when he was finally called up by the Mariners for three days in '17, but one year after he moved to the Twins' organization as a Minor League free agent, he made his first Opening Day roster following an impeccable Spring Training in which he struck out 14 without a walk or earned run allowed.

"He got out there and got some firsts out of the way," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "And it's just a very special moment for everybody involved -- mostly for him. Seeing him out there and doing his thing after putting in so much work, it's a great thing."

Sunday's outing itself didn't go exactly as Harper thought it would. He didn't have the feel that he wanted for his signature curveball, and the pitch wasn't as sharp as he had hoped.

After retiring Greg Allen on a grounder to second, he walked both Kevin Plawecki and Jordan Luplow on full counts. But he induced a popup from Eric Stamets and finished his outing by getting Max Moroff to swing through a fastball for his first-career strikeout. That was certainly a surprise for Harper, who made his way through the Minor Leagues primarily by throwing two different kinds of curveballs at various speeds.

"I sent that text to a buddy," Harper said. "I never thought my first strikeout in the Major Leagues would be on a pitch other than a curveball."

Harper is already looking ahead, and as exciting as his debut was, he's looking forward to the chance to make Major League appearances his new normal. He was also just glad to get into the game when he did, because it was time for him to get some work in on the mound.

"I’m really excited to get out there and do it again," Harper said. "After doing it once, the main thing I want to do now is do it again."

Twins' Minor League affiliates announce Opening Day rosters

The top talent in the Twins' organization continues to push closer to the Major Leagues, as the newly announced Opening Day rosters for Minnesota's Minor League affiliates show that No. 2 prospect Alex Kirilloff and No. 3 prospect Brusdar Graterol are both expected to begin the 2019 season with Double-A Pensacola, though Kirilloff is expected to be out until April with a minor wrist injury sustained late in Spring Training.

No. 1 prospect Royce Lewis and No. 5 prospect Trevor Larnach will highlight the Twins' top prospects in Class A Advanced Fort Myers, while touted first base/outfield prospects Brent Rooker (No. 6) and Luke Raley (No. 26) will both begin the season with Triple-A Rochester.

Infielder Nick Gordon (acute gastritis) and left-hander Stephen Gonsalves (left elbow flexor/pronator strain) will both begin the season on the injured list, though they will eventually begin their 2019 campaigns with Triple-A Rochester.