Twins outlast power outage, early deficit to win home opener

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But before the Twins’ home opener could even begin, the club immediately asked for fans’ tolerance. Whether it was a 57-minute pregame power outage that crippled Target Field’s ticket and concession services, three hitless innings to start from the offense, or an early three-run deficit, the Twins asked more of their faithful than they probably should have Friday afternoon. Perhaps recognizing the leeway they were provided, the Twins justly rewarded the 36,042 people who spent a long, cold, windy day at their home opener by roaring back to topple the Tampa Bay Rays 10-4. Josh Bell drove in two runs, Tristan Gray belted a grand slam and finished with five RBIs, and the Twins rode a seven-run seventh-inning rally to a second straight victory. The Twins also received good news about Byron Buxton, whose forearm X-rays were negative after he was hit by a pitch. TRISTAN GRAY GRAND SLAM!!!! pic.twitter.com/13quDQS9us — Twins.TV (@twinstv) April 3, 2026 “It’s nearly impossible to sell patience, given where we’re at, which is why what happens on the field is the only thing that’s going to matter,” Pohlad said. “We’ve got to sell winning. That’s the only thing that you can sell.” Pohlad has been succinct since taking over in mid-December; he knows what ownership is up against with fans. A series of mistakes made by the Pohlad family since October 2023 — cutting payroll after the playoff losing streak ended and not adding players at the trade deadline in 2024, among other things — have fans down harder than ever. Yet even though he wasn’t surprised by it, Pohlad said he found it “jarring” earlier this week when The Athletic’s Hope-O-Meter fan poll suggested only 4.3 percent of the club’s fan base is optimistic about this season. Still, Pohlad said three hours before the game that he thinks a club with low external expectations will win over its fans with the fight the team has shown in the majority of its games this season. Then, the Twins demonstrated their resolve once again. Having already fought back from a three-run deficit in the fourth inning, a challenging day for the Twins looked downright scary when Tampa Bay reliever Kevin Kelly hit Buxton on the right forearm with a 1-2 fastball in the seventh inning. With a freezing wind howling, Buxton immediately headed for the clubhouse to undergo X-rays. James Outman took over as a pinch runner, and on the first pitch, he stole second, energizing the dugout. Luke Keaschall, who jump-started the tying rally in the fourth with a single and a steal, followed with an infield single. One out later, Bell singled to center, and Outman scored to make it 4-3. After Ryan Jeffers reached on an error by Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay’s fourth miscue, Trevor Larnach and Royce Lewis fired up the crowd when they followed with bases-loaded walks to stretch the lead to 6-3. Gray followed by delivering the knockout blow. The last man to make the 26-man roster and a journeyman in his sixth organization, Gray, who already has eight RBIs this season, shook off the miserable playing conditions and a missed bases-loaded opportunity in the sixth inning by ripping a 1-1 cutter from Yoendrys Gómez for a grand slam and a 10-3 lead. Calling it the coldest game he’d ever played in, Gray said he stayed warm by covering his face with Vaseline, standing next to dugout heaters and occasionally slipping into the clubhouse for warmth. But after the homer, “it didn’t matter,” he said. “It just comes down to having so many opportunities,” Gray said. “I had three tonight. I don’t know how often that happens. It was good to get the first one, and then I was a little upset about the second one, so getting a third chance, that was in my mind, for sure.” What was prominent in the minds of everyone was the passion displayed by fans throughout a trying event. Before Twins manager Derek Shelton answered a postgame question, he singled out the fans for staying despite the heavy rain that started to dump on Target Field in the top of the eighth. A little bit of rain wasn't going to stop this party! pic.twitter.com/G8cDtIkbfS — Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 4, 2026 “That shows you why Twins fans are so passionate,” Shelton said. Already delayed nearly an hour in pregame by a neighborhood power outage that prevented many from entering the park and others from purchasing $2 beer and hot dogs, most of the announced crowd stayed through the winter-like conditions, which led Gray to wonder who was in the stands. “Especially when it started raining, I was like, ‘These people are insane,’” Gray said. “I loved it.” From the outset, the Twins made it clear they will do everything they can to bring back their fans after drawing a Target Field-low attendance in 2025. Pohlad spoke about changing the culture from within, focusing on communication and relationships and rebuilding trust with his players, a group that was scarred after watching 10 teammates shipped off at the trade deadline last July. He believes those changes will help enhance a product that hasn’t resonated with fans since the 2019 season. Pohlad already has employed tactics like $2 beers, hot dogs and snacks to draw fans into the park ahead of first pitch. But Pohlad — who extended the $2 beer sales into the second inning to help offset the pregame power outage — also recognizes gimmicks won’t mean anything unless the Twins play well. Thus far, Pohlad has found himself heavily invested in a club he spent four weeks around during spring training. Though he didn’t imagine it being the case, Pohlad has watched every game closely, describing the feeling of living and dying with every pitch as providing him with a playoff-like mentality. After the win, Pohlad brought his family into the clubhouse, and he could be seen hugging starting pitcher Bailey Ober. He knows efforts like Friday’s will be critical to a team facing 17 April home dates and a fan base suggesting it no longer cares as long as the Pohlads are in charge. It’s their only course of action. “I’m not naive to what the most important thing here is, which is winning baseball games,” Pohlad said. “We can sell all the $2 beers we want. We can have all the concerts we want. But people want to see a winner. The product we put on the field is ultimately what is going to drive hope within our fan base. … We just have to gradually continue to win back this fan base.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Dan Hayes is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Minnesota Twins. Dan joined The Athletic after 5 1/2 years at NBC Sports Chicago and eight years at The North County Times, where he covered the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, four World Series, the NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup Final, NASCAR, UFC, Little League World Series, PGA and the NFL. Follow Dan on Twitter @DanHayesMLB