KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Team Flexibility paid off on the very first day.
The Twins, who made adding depth their priority during a busy offseason, got 5 1/3 shutout innings from new starter Pablo Lopéz, plus a rally-extending walk and run-scoring single from newcomers Kyle Farmer and Donovan Solano, and opened the 2023 season with a 2-0 victory over the Royals.
Lopéz got 13 swing-and-misses among the 50 strikes he threw in his Twins debut, becoming the first Twins starting pitcher in 20 years — since Brad Radke in 2003 — to earn an opening day victory on the road. The former Marlin allowed only two hits while striking out eight and twice worked out of trouble after putting Royals runners in scoring position with less than two outs.
