Mariners at Twins
It is a pretty good bet Minnesota's second home game of the season won't include a bald eagle landing on the shoulder of the opposing pitcher in pregame festivities. The Twins face the Seattle Mariners in the second contest of a three-game set on Saturday and the first game will be recalled for the coolness of Seattle left-hander James Paxton.
Minnesota received a two-run homer from slugging third baseman Miguel Sano and solo shots from catcher Mitch Garver and Eddie Rosario while posting a 4-2 victory on Thursday but Paxton stole the day while holding his ground as the bald eagle flew at him twice and landed on his shoulder as he stood at attention for the national anthem. "It's not the first time I've seen a bald eagle, but it's the first time I've had one try to land on me. So that was interesting," Paxton said after the contest. "I wasn't going to run. I figured I'm not going to outrun an eagle, so we might as well just see what happens." It will be another frosty day on Saturday with a projected high of 31 degrees -- it was 38 for Thursday's first pitch -- but Twins second baseman Brian Dozier said you just have to accept the conditions. "It's not the warmest, but we've gotta play," Dozier told reporters. "Both teams have to take the field, right?"
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, ROOT Sports Northwest (Seattle), FS North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners RH Mike Leake (1-0, 2.57 ERA) vs. Twins RH Jose Berrios (1-0, 0.00)
Leake allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings while defeating Cleveland in his first outing and he said he will be bundling up between innings. "If you can keep your hand warm and stay mobile and make sure your blood is flowing, for the most part you can keep your grip," Leake told reporters. "Once you start getting cold and losing that feel, that's when you start losing it. You have to try to ignore it. If you can block out the weather and get the tunnel vision, it distracts you from how cold it is." Leake has a 6.75 ERA in two career no-decisions against the Twins and is making his first start at Target Field.
Berrios was superb in his first outing when he threw a three-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles for the first shutout of his career. Minnesota is hoping it will be referring to the 23-year-old as "ace" by the end of the season as he looks to build on a fine 2017 performance of 14-8 with a 3.89 ERA. Berrios won his lone career start against Seattle when he allowed two runs and five hits over eight innings last June 15.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Twins have set a franchise record with 12 homers through six games -- the old mark was 10 in 2009.
2. Seattle has scored just 21 runs in six games as it plays without DH Nelson Cruz (ankle) and deals with slow starts from 3B Kyle Seager (3-for-21) and 1B Ryon Healy (1-for-18).
3. Sano has fanned 13 times in 25 at-bats but also has a team-best seven RBIs and his three homers rank one behind Dozier.