Opening day lineup: Twins have all righthanded batters except Max Kepler as Byron Buxton leads off

The Twins and Royals meet in Kansas City, with first pitch at 3:10 p.m.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 28, 2024 at 4:41PM
Max Kepler (Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Byron Buxton will lead off and play center, and catcher Ryan Jeffers will hit second as the Twins open the 2024 season by facing the Royals at 3:10 p.m. today at Kaufmann Stadium.

With lefthander Cole Ragans pitching for Kansas City, the Twins lineup is very right-handed, with only rightfielder Max Kepler hitting from the other side of the plate.

Kyle Farmer will play second, Willi Castro left and Manuel Margot will be the DH to back starting pitcher Pablo López.

The Twins opened last season with a 2-0 victory over the Royals.

Plenty of pregame reading from our Twins preview section here.

TWINS LINEUP

Byron Buxton, CF

Ryan Jeffers, C

Royce Lewis, 3B

Carlos Correa, SS

Carlos Santana, 1B

Max Kepler, RF

Kyle Farmer, 2B

Willi Castro, LF

Manuel Margot, DH

ROYALS LINEUP

Maikel Garcia, 3B

Bobby Witt, SS

Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B

Salvador Perez, C

MJ Melendez, LF

Hunter Renfroe, RF

Adam Frazier, 2B

Nelson Velazquez, DH

Kyle Isbel, CF

about the writer

about the writer

Phil Miller

Reporter

Phil Miller has covered the Twins for the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2013. Previously, he covered the University of Minnesota football team, and from 2007-09, he covered the Twins for the Pioneer Press.

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