Shane Bieber Shows Twins What a Real Ace Looks Like in Series Opener vs Cleveland

The Minnesota Twins kicked off a huge early season series against the Cleveland Indians Thursday night, and let’s just say it was rather disappointing. It was a battle of the aces and the Indians ace Shane Bieber got the best of Jose Berrios, as the Indians won 2-0.

Berrios actually pitched well, but for once the Bomba squad did not provide any help. Berrios’ one mistake came against Indians SS Francisco Lindor in the 3rd inning.

Lindor ?

A 2-run shot that gives the @Indians the lead! pic.twitter.com/D66Z0lmCOq

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 31, 2020

Indians pitcher Shane Bieber was absolutely filthy. He struck out 13 in 8 innings and was really never challenged by the Twins offense at any point. He also made a little history along the way.

Shane Bieber notched his 13th strikeout to end B8, which ties him for the most-ever strikeouts by a pitcher in their first two starts (27). Ties Karl Spooner, who struck out 27 over 18 innings in his only starts of 1954. #MNTwins #MLB

— danhayesmlb (@DanHayesMLB) July 31, 2020

The Indians bullpen finished off the Twins in the ninth inning to preserve the win for Bieber. Even the best offenses are prone to off days here and there, so hopefully the Twins shake this off and bounce back tomorrow.

The Best

There wasn’t much good to take from this game, but Byron Buxton made his presence felt in Center Field tonight.

The bullpen also pitched well, putting up nothing but zeros after Berrios left the game. They continue to pitch well (other than the one game against Chicago).

Byron Buxton covers so much ground. Almost overran this ball deep in the gap. pic.twitter.com/dTCQ83WNhn

— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) July 31, 2020

The Worst

The Twins lineup as whole was not very good tonight. The Twins only produced three hits and had 11 strikeouts as a team. I am willing to let this one slide just because of what this team has done so far.

Josh Donaldson has started the season relatively slowly. His struggles continued against Shane Bieber. Will the real Josh Donaldson please stand up?

Josh Donaldson is now 3-20 with 7 strikeouts and one extra base hit to start his #MNTwins tenure.

— Ted (@tlschwerz) July 31, 2020

Up Next

The Twins will face the Indians in game 2 of the series tomorrow night at 7:10 CT. Randy Dobnak (0-1, 2.25 ERA) squares off against Mike Clevinger (0-0, 2.57). Hopefully the Twins can even this very important series.

Cameron Thompson | Minnesota Sports Fan