It’s Opening Day, and the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins are set to play in the Twin Cities to begin the 2017 MLB season.
First-time Opening Day starter Danny Duffy will take the mound for Kansas City as the Royals travel to Minnesota to begin the 2017 season against the Twins.
Duffy, who posted a 12-3 record and 3.51 ERA across 179.2 innings for the Royals last season, leads a team in transition. Several key members of the squad that won the 2014 AL pennant and the 2015 World Series, including Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, will be free agents following the season. Therefore, KC is expected to either compete for the AL Central crown, or revamp the roster prior to the trade deadline.
- Date: Monday April 3, 2017
- Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
- Venue: Target Field
- TV Info: Fox Sports Kansas City/Fox Sports North/MLB Extra Innings
- Radio: KCSP 610/Go 96.3/TIBN/La Raza
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Probable Starting Pitchers:
- Royals: LHP Danny Duffy (12-3, 3.51 ERA)
- Twins: RHP Ervin Santana (7-11, 3.38 ERA)
As for the Twins, Ervin Santana will start for the second consecutive Opening Day with hopes of breaking a first game losing streak that dates back eight years. Santana was 7-11 with a 3.38 ERA and 149 strikeouts in 181 innings across 30 starts last season.
Next: FanSided 2017 MLB preview
Along with a lineup of rising stars like Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Max Kepler, plus mainstays Brian Dozier (who hit 42 home runs last season) and Joe Mauer, Santana hopes to lead the Twins to a rebound following a disastrous 59-103 season a year ago.