10:27 - Good morning from sunny England and welcome to Opening Day! I'm currently at work, desperately waiting for 5pm to get here, and already mentally preparing myself for this evening's festivities.
If you've been living under a rock, you might not have seen the Indians are in Minnesota to kickstart their 2019 season against their division foes. I have just checked the weather for Minneapolis and it estimates the temperature at first pitch to be around 48°F, or 9°C for us Brits. Toasty then.
12:02 - I'm already hungry thinking about the food I'm having tonight ahead of the game. Every Opening Day my wife and I have hot dogs but this year I'm considering adding nachos to the party. We like to make a fuss on this most special of days.
13:59 - I've been out for lunch and returned with all the stuff for hot dogs and nachos. It's on.
15:05 - I’ve just seen the breaking news confirming that star third baseman Jose Ramirez will be in the Indians lineup today, after some recent concerns about his health. Ramirez had to be carted from the field on Sunday after fouling a ball off his left knee and he looked in serious pain. Thank goodness he has recovered in time, because the Indians and myself will need him fully fit; he's the pride and joy of my fantasy team this season.
17:15 - I'm home from work and the baseball is on!
18:00 - With a couple of hours to go before first pitch let's quickly go over our starting pitchers this afternoon:
Corey Kluber is making his fifth straight Opening Day start for the Tribe (tied for the longest streak in franchise history.) Last year Kluber lead the AL with 215 innings pitched, to go alone with 222 strikeouts and a 2.89 ERA.
Jose Berrios is his opponent and the 24 year-old righty posted a career-best 3.84 ERA in 2018. He’ll want to make an impression against the experienced Kluber and the Lindor-less Indians.
18:10 - Speaking of Lindor, the face of the franchise will be missing today thanks to an injury ravaged spring. First it was his calf, and now his ankle, injured on Wednesday in a run-down during a minor league rehab game. Jason Kipnis will also be absent as he is struggling with a calf problem of his own. So the Tribe lineup will be a little lightweight today as a result, with rookie Eric Stamets and veteran Brad Miller debuting in their stead.
18:40 - I have finished cooking the hot dogs and they are ready to be enjoyed. We didn’t have any mustard so ketchup it is, and I tried my best to get the swirly ballpark pattern (and failed).
18:58 - I've just checked in with my buddy Matt, a Brewers fan, who is also enjoying Opening Day. Thanks to a Christian Yelich 3-run homer he is now enjoying the occasion a little bit more. Matt's girlfriend Libby is an A's fan, and I like to take some of the credit for her baseball fandom (I bought her hat for her birthday!)
19:30 - We have spent most of this evening watching the Yankees game whilst we patiently wait for the Indians to start. My wife decided they were her team after she embraced the Evil Empire during our trip to New York in 2017. I’m not even mad, I just love she shows enthusiasm for one of my hobbies!
19:42 - The Yankees are crushing the Orioles and this contest is done, so I’m gonna get started on the nachos.
20:00 - The nachos are out, I’ve got a beer in my hand and the Tribe get started in 10 minutes!
20:10 - Oh hi new uniforms! I forgot the navy jerseys were getting a makeover, but I must say they look pretty nice.
20:26 - 1st inning over and both sides go quietly, both pitchers look on their game.
20:35 - I can't eat any more nachos. I might be sick.
20:40 - I’m a big fan of Brad Miller’s stirrups. Not a fan of the umpire calling an inside ball a strike.
20:47 - Jake Bauers take a bow sir! The second out of the 3rd inning is a high fly ball into foul territory and Bauers sprints and slides in the dirt to pull off a spectacular catch! Kluber is cruising through three innings thus far, but Berrios is matching him pitch for pitch.
20:50 - First hit of the ballgame! Leonys Martin ropes a liner down the first base line and into the corner, and collects a double for his trouble.
20:59 - Berrios has 6 strikeouts through 4 innings and is making the Tribe lineup look silly. They can’t touch his change-up, it just drops off a cliff.
21:29 - The Twins finally get a hit off Kluber in the bottom of the 6th, Byron Buxton sending a double off the wall, but Kluber strands him. The game is just over an hour old and we’re headed into the 7th already - cruising along!
21:51 - Nelson Cruz gets a single to start the bottom of the 7th but Kluber strikes out Eddie Rosario looking and there’s an audible groan from the Puerto Rican outfielder. Beautiful pitch. CJ Cron then muscles out a single that drops into shallow center field to put Kluber in a pickle and just like that a Marwin Gonzalez single escapes the grasp of Leonys Martin and rolls to the wall, scoring two to give the Twins a sudden 2-0 lead.
21:55 - Kluber hits Jonathan Schoop in the wrist to put him on but comes back to strike out Jason Castro looking, a perfectly placed pitch at the knees on the corner. A Byron Buxton pop-up ends the inning and Kluber’s day as well. He’s been really sharp but you can’t help feel the lack of run support is gonna cost him. Kluber finishes with 7 innings pitched, 4 hits, 2 earned runs and 5 strikeouts.
22:06 - Brad Miller, he of the fantastic stirrups and no batting gloves (this guy has won me over already), cracks a single to force Berrios from the game. The Twins youngster gets a standing O from his adoring crowd and he deserves it. He’s been lights out, with 7.2 innings pitched, 10 K’s and just 2 hits given up.
22:12 - Greg Allen, in as a pinch hitter for Stamets, strikes out looking on a low pitch from Twins reliever Taylor Rogers. The umpire loves it and is very theatrical in his call of the third strike. Get a grip man.
22:24 - Francona has been busy with his bullpen in this 8th inning. We’ve seen Oliver Perez, Adam Cimber and now Brad Hand entering the game. Together they get the job done and the Indians now head to the 9th still trailing 2-0...
22:32 - We’re not off to a good start, with Leonys Martin striking out tamely and Jose Ramirez pops up on the first pitch he sees. Come on Jose, you're better than this!
22:33 - Jordan Luplow, pinch hitting for his Indians debut, is our last hope.
22:36 - Luplow goes down swinging and that’s it, the Twins take the Opening Day victory at home 2-0, Berrios collecting the win and Taylor Rogers the save.
22:37 - And so I now go to bed, with Opening Day in the books. I’m full of nachos and beer and ready for sleep. The Indians lineup looked very limp indeed. Here’s hoping it was just the Berrios effect and not indicative of the season ahead.
Still, despite the loss I've had an enjoyable day and it's so good to have baseball back. The Indians go again on Saturday in another UK friendly game, a 6:10pm start for me.
