ST. LOUIS — Pablo López talked of setting the tone for the game, for the series, for the season a day before making his third consecutive Opening Day start for the Twins. Surely, a day as uncharacteristic as the one he had on Thursday was not what he envisioned. Twice, he had a runner break for second and was in position to throw him out. Twice, something went wrong. And twice, López was hurt by a two-strike changeup which led to a St. Louis Cardinals run. When all was said and done, the starter had surrendered four runs (two earned), issued a costly balk and threw a ball away trying to nab a runner at second. After a rain delay that lasted nearly 2 hours, López gave up runs in each of the first three innings and the Twins would never recover, falling 5-3 at Busch Stadium to open the 2025 season. After former Twin Sonny Gray sent the Twins down on six pitches in the top of the first, López labored through the first inning, allowing a single, issuing a balk that caused Rocco Baldelli to emerge from the dugout to get an explanation and then allowing another pair of hits. An inning later, after the Twins had stranded the bases loaded in the top of the second, Lars Nootbar got ahold of a two-strike changeup and sent it out to right field, bringing in two runs. That followed a throwing error in which López’s throw to catch the runner attempting to steal went into the outfield rather than shortstop Carlos Correa’s glove. López’s day ended in the fifth, at which point he had given up four runs and been outpitched by his former rotation-mate, Gray. Gray was unscored upon until the fifth inning when former Cardinal Harrison Bader, who was greeted earlier with a round of applause from the fans, took a pitch out to left field for a two-run home run. The Twins tacked on another run in the sixth inning with Willi Castro coming through with an RBI double to score Trevor Larnach, right after Ty France had been robbed of extra bases by center fielder Victor Scott II. But they wouldn’t get any closer than that as Griffin Jax allowed a home run to Nolan Arenado in the eighth, and the Twins left Bader on second to end the game. Related Articles Surprise Opening Day roster inclusion not on Randy Dobnak’s bingo card What channel are the Twins on? Here’s where to find the games Moving past 2024 collapse, Twins enter new season with positive outlook Five things that have to happen for the Twins to return to the postseason Twins believe bullpen could be among the best in baseball ...read more read less