Postgame: Santana gets some advice from Sano, pitches Opening Day win

It was a heartening first game for the Twins, who heard all spring about how little hope they have of being interesting after a 103-loss season. Their team meeting before the game was about that very point: Don't listen to the naysayers, we're better than they think.

We'll see. But Monday's game was important, because a loss, some players feared, might trigger a "here we go again" attitude.

Here are a couple of extras from only the second true Opening Day ever held at Target Field:

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Miguel Sano is only 23, and Ervin Santana is a decade older. But Sano wants to be more of a leader of the Twins, and he showed it Monday.

When Santana had a momentary lapse in the seventh inning, walking leadoff hitter Lorenzo Cain on four pitches with the score tied 1-1, Sano walked over to the pitcher's mound for a word with the veteran righthander.

"I don't know what Miggy tells him," shrugged manager Paul Molitor.

"He just came over and said, 'Hey, don't worry about it. Get a ground ball double play,' " Santana related.

Just trying to keep him thinking positive, Sano said. "I said, 'You're the man. Let's finish the game.' "

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Santana gave the sellout crowd of 39,615 a brief moment of panic after he thought he had struck out Brandon Moss to end the seventh inning. Moss checked his swing but went too far on strike two; one pitch later, he did it again, but this time it was called a ball. Santana began to walk off the field, but returned with a pained look on his face.

Moss then lined a high fly ball into the right field corner, but it drifted several feet foul. The crowd loudly exhaled at the near-home run.