With spring training dwindling to its final days, right-handed starter David Festa still wasn’t sure whether his season would begin on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis or along the Mississippi in St. Paul. As things turned out, Festa headed north from Fort Myers, not to St. Louis bu t further north to St. Paul. With Simeon Woods Richardson nailing down the fifth-starter spot with the Twins, Festa was sent to the Triple-A Saints of the International League. Moving past that disappointment, his season could not have gotten off to a better start. The 25-year-old Festa pitched five scoreless innings in the Saints’ season-opening 11-0 win over the Indianapolis Indians on Friday night at CHS Field. He scattered three singles, struck out four and did not give up a walk. While acknowledging that he was disappointed by not making the Twins out of spring training, Festa said he is determined not to let it have a negative affect on his performance. “It’s something that you want, but I can’t let that type of stuff linger on into the season,” he said. “I think baseball is a really hard sport. If you worry about things like that, you’re going to make this game really, really difficult.” Zebby Matthews, who also was in the mix to be the Twins’ fifth starter, will be at the top of the list if — or when — the Twins need to call up a starter. Matthews will get his first chance to state his case on Sunday. Festa said he was pleased with his season debut. “Something I’ve been trying to work on throughout the spring is being efficient, and it went really well for me,” he said. “I don’t know what my first-pitch strike (count) was, but I think I did a good job of attacking the zone and getting first-pitch outs.” Festa, who worked on adding a sinker during spring training, did not enjoy good results. He made four appearances, including three starts, and gave up 15 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings. Festa said the sinker is a pitch he felt he needed to add to his repertoire this season, and the Twins agreed. “I wasn’t doing a good job of getting my fastball in against right-handers enough,” he said. “The four-seam fastball isn’t bad, but I wasn’t getting it in enough. The sinker, with the natural arm-side movement, will help the slider. I think the slider is in a way better spot than it usually is.” The 6-foot-6 Festa was the Saints’ Opening Day starter last season and spent three months with the team before being called up by the Twins. He made 13 starts for the Twins, going 2-6 win an ERA of 4.90. His stock has not dipped after his rough spring, and neither has his confidence. “I can only control what I can do out there, and that’s what I had to do tonight,” Festa said. “Just have to continue to prepare every outing. The numbers kind of resetting themselves tonight were really nice for me mentally. “I wasn’t really discouraged about how the spring went. I know where I’m at right now and I’m just trying to build off this first outing.” Meanwhile, the Saints enjoyed an offensive explosion against the Indians. St. Paul’s roster includes nine of the Twins’ top-30 prospects, according to MLB.com, including two who were among the hitting stars on Friday. Center fielder Emmanuel Rodriguez, the Twins’ No. 2 prospect and No. 37 among MLB’s Top 100, roped a two-run double to left-center field to get the Saints’ scoring started. The 22-year-old Rodriguez finished 3 for 4 with a walk. Rodriguez joined the organization as an international free agent in 2019. His 2024 season was limited to 47 games due to injury. He made his Saints debut on Sept. 2 and appeared in seven games for the Saints, batting .217 (5 for 23). Prior to his promotion to the Saints, Rodriguez batted .298 for Double-A Wichita, with 8 home runs and 20 RBI in 37 games. Minnesota’s No. 2 Luke Keaschall, still recovering from Tommy John surgery, served as the Saints’ designated hitter Friday night. When healthy, he’ll spend time at second base and center field. Keaschall collected an RBI single in the fourth inning and finished 2 for 6. The Saints broke the game open with two runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth. They finished with 18 hits. Eight of the nine hitters in the Saints’ starting lineup had at least two hits. Right-handers Scott Blewett and Kyle Bischoff and left-hander Kody Funderburk came on in relief of Festa to preserve the shutout. Related Articles Minnesota Wild, St. Paul Saints make pitches for state bonding projects No joke, Bill Murray will sing with a blues band at the Orpheum Theatre in April ...read more read less