If I had to script an opening day game for the Twins, Santana would have gone 8 innings with 10 K’s and only 3 hits allowed. That didn’t happen but Santana was good enough to get the win tonight against the always confusing Baltimore Orioles.

Santana’s line (and ERA) won’t be as impressive as it could have been if the Twins hadn’t decided to put the O’s away during the bottom of the 6th inning. He ended the game with 6IP, 6k, 4R, 4ER and he scattered 7 hits.

In the category of “Things that never happen”, Torii Hunter got off to a GREAT start. He went 2-4 with a opposite field homerun and 2 RBI. Hunter is about as streaky a player as i’ve ever watched. Let’s hope that he’s learned something from Mauer and Morneau about hitting during the offseason. He’s at his best when he sprays the ball all around the field. He looked great tonight and he even tracked down a gapper in deep left center. It’s good to see him running at full speed and ripping the ball.

What would you expect from the reigning AL MVP? All you Derek Jeter lovers can take a look at Morneau’s performance tonight. He looked as if he was in mid-season form while going 3-4 with a solo homerun and 2 RBI. My only criticism of Morneau is his questionable baserunning…. Since when did he think that he was fast? He was thrown out twice tonight (once at second and once at the plate). Either he is blowing by the base coaches or they have some misconceptions regarding his speed.

Our batting champion went a measley 1-3 all while scoring a run… Very run of the mill game for Mauer. Rarely does he make noise at the plate. He’s always consistent and silent but deadlly.

One strange note from tonights game. Jeff Cirillo started the game at DH. No idea why Kubel wasn’t in the lineup…. Maybe Gardy has saw something from the veteran that he likes. Keep tabs on this. I assumed that Kubel would be the guy but with his spring batting just a few points below Cirillo he rode the bench tonight. Maybe it was the pitching matchup against Bedard?

In closing… Recently retired Twins pitcher, Brad Radke, threw out the first pitch of tonights game. That ball landed safely in the 10th row of the HomeRun porch. Damn those first inning jitters!