Hey, what’s up, I’m Cullen, and I’ll be your regular Thursday gameday threader and recapper this season.
I dabbled a bit in Spring Training with the game thread, but this is my first one for a regular season game. And it comes for a game in which the Royals look to sweep the Twins to get to 4-2 on this very new, very young, very promising season.
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On the bump for the Royals is Cole Ragans, who’s making his second start of the season. He started the opener in Atlanta and didn’t fare so hot. Of course, as I like to say, You can’t win if you don’t score, and the Royals didn’t bother scoring in that one.
Still, I’m bullish on Ragans. I have to be. The Royals can’t win anything meaningful this year without him performing well.
The Twins turn to Taj Bradley, a pitcher I thought still played for the Rays. He fanned nine in his first start of the season but didn’t last quite five innings. Maybe he’s building up his endurance still?
Let’s get to the lineups.
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Lineups for April 2, 2026
I attended the home opener on Monday and witnessed homers by both Isbel and Collins. Maybe it’s because I’m the opposite of tall, but the idea of Isbel becoming a modern-day Jim Wynn, a/k/a The Toy Rocket, has always appealed to me. Alas, I do not see him continuing his 1.000 slugging percentage for the rest of the season.
Right-handed heavy lineup for the Twins as they face Ragans, a southpaw.
Sure, it’s only been five games, but the Twins aren’t in a great spot at 1-4. Only three other teams have just one win, and two of those teams—the Nomadic A’s and Boston Red Sox—are underachieving. 2026 might provide a very ugly for the AL Central cellar between the Twins and White Sox.
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Game time—1:10 p.m.
UPDATE: Anne Rogers posted at 12:18 p.m. that Carter Jensen has been pulled from the lineup, no reason yet provided. Here’s the Royals’ new lineup without him:
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