MINNEAPOLIS -- Friday night's opener of a four-game series between the Twins and Royals was postponed due to inclement weather in the Twin Cities area. The clubs will make up the game as part of a straight doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 12:35 p.m. CT. The second game will commence 30 minutes following the conclusion of the opener.
The Twins plan to keep their rotation in line despite the changed scheduling, with Jake Odorizzi expected to start Game 1 and José Berríos slated for Game 2. The club will announce its 29th man for the twin bill in the morning.
Doubleheaders were already on the Twins' minds earlier on Friday, as Major League Baseball announced that Minnesota would play its upcoming two-game series against the Cardinals in early September on one day due to the need to create more off-days for St. Louis.
Now, manager Rocco Baldelli and his staff will simply need to think about the considerations for the new seven-inning games far earlier than they had planned.
"Our norms are to start thinking about it very simply, like it is just two fewer innings, so trying not to overthink it," president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. "You can get too complex at times if you try to think too much. The goal is to win the game, whether it's seven innings, nine innings, 14 innings; whatever it is. So I think our goal won't change, and Rocco's just so good about navigating each individual situation on its own."