Twins Opener Might Be Pushed Back A Day Due To Forecast Of Rain

MINNEAPOLIS, MN —Twins fans eagerly awaiting their first chance to see new shortstop Carlos Correa play a home game at Target Field might have to wait an extra day.

In recent days, Twins executives have confirmed local reports suggesting the team may be forced to postpone Thursday's scheduled Opening Day game against the Seattle Mariners because of the weather forecast.

The game, which is scheduled to begin at 3:10 p.m., would be moved to Friday, which is an open date on the Twins' schedule. In cold-weather cities, Major League Baseball regularly schedules an open date after Opening Day for this very reason.

"Yes we are watching weather closely. Any decision to shift the Opener to Friday will be made a minimum of 24 hours prior to Thursday's scheduled game time. Stay tuned," wrote Dave St. Peter, president & CEO of the Twins, in a Sunday Twitter exchange.

Similarly, Twins Senior Business Communications Manager Matt Hodson told KARE 11 that the team may "proactively" push the opener back one day due to a forecast including the possibility of snow.

According to the National Weather Service, Thursday afternoon's forecast in Minneapolis calls for a 70 percent chance of rain with a high near 42 degrees. Thursday night, there is a chance of snow after 10 p.m.

Friday's forecast is for partly sunny skies with a high near 43 degrees, with wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

The Twins, who are 9-9 in spring exhibition games, are scheduled to complete Grapefruit League action against the Red Sox Tuesday in Fort Myers before making their way up north.

Last week, the Twins announced the team's plans for Opening Day festivities, which almost certainly still will take place if the game is moved to Friday.

For the first time since 2019, Opening Day will include "Breakfast on the Plaza" from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on 7th Street.

At 1 p.m., Twins legends Tony Oliva (Gate 6) and Kent Hrbek (Gate 14) will open their namesake gates, while other franchise legends, or their families, will be on hand to open the other gates: Tom Kelly (Gate 3), Jim Kaat (Gate 29), Kirby Puckett Jr. and Catherine Puckett (Gate 34).

Meanwhile, Twins season ticket holders entering their gate near the Target Field Station will be greeted by select players from the current Twins roster.

The Twins also will begin their "Countdown to Cooperstown" with just over 100 days until Twins greats Jim Kaat and Oliva are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 24.

Kaat and Oliva, who were teammates from 1962-73, will be honored with a videoboard presentation before the game, and they will throw out the ceremonial first pitches: Kaat to Kelly and Oliva to Hrbek.

A "Countdown to Cooperstown" on the scoreboard will then be updated during each Twins home game.

The 15-member Shiloh Temple International Ministries Choir is scheduled to sing the National Anthem on Opening Day, and there is a scheduled flyover of a World War II plane.

During the Opening Weekend series with the Mariners, the first 10,000 fans at each game will receive a Twins jacket.

Whether the season opener is played on Thursday or Friday, the game's scheduled starting pitchers are: Twins rookie righty Joe Ryan and Mariners lefty Robbie Ray, who won the American League Cy Young Award last season with the Toronto Blue Jays.