The Twins are holding their heads high, even after a series loss.
The Minnesota Twins came out of their first weekend of baseball with a 1-2 record, but the mood inside the clubhouse was far from defeated after Sunday's 8-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
First baseman Josh Bell, who ripped a pair of doubles in the series finale, spoke to The Star Tribune after the game and offered a window into how the team is processing the early-season setback.
"We gave ourselves a chance multiple times," Bell said. "I think the vibes are still good. Shelty came in and said 'Keep your heads up, you played a hell of a game.' We just have to get going in the right direction."
A Weekend That Had Its Moments
The Twins were not expected to give Baltimore much trouble this weekend, and yet they hung around in all three games and showed real fight in the process.
They lost the opener 2-1 after Joe Ryan delivered a gutsy outing, going 5.1 innings and allowing just one hit while the offense went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Saturday was a different story altogether as Royce Lewis smashed a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth to spark a 4-1 win that gave first-year manager Derek Shelton his first victory.
Sunday was the tough one.
Minnesota jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind Tristan Gray's three-run double in the second inning, but starter Bailey Ober couldn't hold it and the Orioles chipped away before busting the game open with three runs in the seventh off reliever Mick Abel.
The Twins loaded the bases in both the seventh and eighth innings and came up empty both times, striking out four times with runners on every bag.
That inability to deliver the big hit is something Shelton acknowledged after the game, calling back to their struggles in the opener.
And look, it stung. Shelton even got ejected in the ninth over a disputed ABS challenge by Orioles closer Ryan Helsley.
But the overall takeaway from the weekend was that this group competed harder than most people expected.
What's Next in Kansas City
The Twins now head to Kauffman Stadium for a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals, who are also 1-2 after dropping their opening series in Atlanta.
It will be Kansas City's home opener, and the Royals will have their fans amped up for it.
Minnesota sends Simeon Woods Richardson to the mound against lefty Kris Bubic in Monday's opener.
Bubic was an All-Star in 2025 and posted a 2.55 ERA across 20 appearances, so the matchup will be a real test for a Twins lineup that has shown it can generate runs but has struggled to come through in the biggest moments.
Lewis has two homers through three games and Byron Buxton is hitting .333 to start the year, so the building blocks are there.
If guys like Bell keep swinging it well and the young core continues developing, this team could be a lot more interesting than its 72.5-win projection suggests.
Nobody is panicking in that clubhouse after three games, and Bell's words say a lot about the tone Shelton is trying to set.
The Twins know they have to clean up the situational hitting, but they also know they hung with one of the better teams in the American League and nearly took the series.