FORT MYERS, Fla. — Six of the 10 players the Twins will use to start today's game are projected to be regular starters during the season, too, and all 10 of the Red Sox arguably fit that description. That's a lot of star power, if you want to call it that, for a mid-March game two weeks before the opener.
The reason, of course, is that Twins camp and "Fenway South," as banners outside identify jetBlue Park, are located only five miles apart, so veterans who don't like to take Florida bus trips can fulfill their obligation to appear in a few road games by driving up the parkway. Most Twins starters will drive themselves to the park and be long gone by the seventh inning or so, after the minor leaguers take over.
Nelson Cruz, who has had only five Grapefruit League at-bats thus far, will be here, batting third, his first action since Sunday.
For Jose Berrios, this will be a good test. He's allowed runs in each of his first three starts, when he's been working on building up his arm and tinkering with his pitches. He'll face Boston's A lineup, with plans to throw about four innings or 70 pitches.
Today's game will also be a major-league first, I'd have to imagine: Both Xander Bogaerts and Zander Wiel are scheduled to play.
Here are the lineups for today's game:
TWINS
Gonzalez SS
Cron 1B
Cruz DH
Rosario LF
Garver C
Schoop 2B
Buxton CF
Adrianza SS
Cave RF
Berrios RHP, followed by Matt Magill, Blake Parker and Tim Collins.
RED SOX
Bradley CF
Betts RF
Moreland 1B
Martinez LF
Bogaerts SS
Pearce DH
Nunez 3B
Holt 2B
Swihart C
Eovaldi RHP
