ST. LOUIS — The Twins kicked off their season on Thursday in St. Louis, falling 5-3 to the Cardinals on Opening Day. Things didn’t get much better over the weekend. They finished with three hits in Saturday’s game and got romped on Sunday, swept by the Cardinals to begin the season. Here’s t hree takeaways from the Twins’ season-opening series: The Twins’ preferred infield defense Through the first three games, the Twins’ preferred infield configuration while Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee are both on the injured list has Willi Castro at second base and Jose Miranda at third along with Ty France at first and Carlos Correa at short. While Castro can play almost anywhere, manager Rocco Baldelli seems to prefer his defense at second base, where he said he believes the utilityman has good chemistry with Correa. Castro will see at-bats in other spots — he’s the only back-up shortstop option and the only other third base option currently, too — but when he’s at second and France at first, that limits the potential at-bats for Edouard Julien and Mickey Gasper. Gasper started one game during the series at DH and Julien came in late in Sunday’s blowout and did not see an at-bat in the series. Bader seems to be in line to get plenty of at-bats The Twins used the same lineup twice in their three-game opening series. That lineup had Harrison Bader in left field with Trevor Larnach serving as the team’s DH. Bader was brought in this offseason as the team’s fourth outfielder. He’s a Gold Glove defender, winning the award in 2021, and will back up Byron Buxton in center field when he needs a day off. But it also seems apparent that he’ll get plenty of at-bats even when Buxton is in the lineup. Those, Baldelli said in spring, would likely come with him in left field. With both corner outfielders — Larnach and Matt Wallner — left-handed hitters, many of those will come against lefties, but it seems as if a good number could come against righties, as well. “That was the biggest thing coming into the new year and going through the free agency process: just finding, first and foremost, a competitive organization to play with and play for,” Bader said. “And beyond that, is to have an important role in that.” Twins already in hole The Twins aren’t panicking about three games, but it goes without saying: This wasn’t the way they were looking to start the year. There was plenty of hard contact in the series and not a ton to show for it offensively as the Twins finished the series in St. Louis with just six runs in three games. “I don’t think anyone’s worried in this clubhouse,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “I think going into the game … we (led) MLB in exit velocity by like three-plus miles an hour and last in (batting average on balls in play). Like that does — that’s not sustainable.” No, it isn’t. Some bad luck and good Cardinals’ defense has surely played into it. Now, the Twins get to play the Chicago White Sox, the perfect team to get back on track against. “We just have to stay true to what we know we’re trying to do at the plate,” Baldelli said. “We just need to keep having good at-bats, keep barreling balls up and things are going to work offensively. It was actually not a bad offensive display.” Related Articles Bailey Ober tagged for eight runs as Twins swept by Cardinals Twins rookie Mickey Gasper collects first MLB hit after long wait Offense quiet as Twins drop second straight game to Cardinals Prospect-heavy Saints win opener at CHS Field as David Festa leads way Now healthy, Joe Ryan could be a key to Twins’ success ...read more read less