Twins Open Series With a Win Over Tampa, Rox Suffer First Loss

The Minnesota Twins earned a big win over Tampa Bay to kick off the weekend series on Friday night, while the St. Cloud Rox dropped their first contest of the season to Duluth and the Minnesota Lynx fell to the Washington Mystics.

RECAPS:

- The Twins topped the Rays 9-4 to open the series. Each team earned a run in the early innings, but Minnesota went on a six-run tear in the bottom of the fifth to open up a big lead. Byron Buxton led Minnesota in what was his second straight two-home run game. Devin Smeltzer threw three strikeouts and allowed four hits and three runs through the first six innings. The Twins improve to 34-26 and the Rays fall to 34-24. The teams will take the field in Minneapolis for game two on Saturday. Pre-game coverage starts at 12:30 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON

- The Rox suffered their first loss in a 6-0 shutout against Duluth. Ryan Jackson had the only hit of the game for St. Cloud. The Rox fall to 9-1 and the Huskies improve to 8-3. The teams will play game two in St. Cloud on Saturday night. Pre-game coverage begins at 5:35 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.

- The Lynx continued their slump with a 76-59 loss to Washington at Target Center on Friday. The team was without starting center Sylvia Fowles who is out indefinitely with a knee injury she sustained in Tuesday's contest in New York. Myisha Hines-Allen led all scorers with 17 points for the Mystics. Ariel Powers led the Lynx with 12 points and three rebounds, while Jessica Shepard snagged 15 rebounds, but only tallied five points. Damiris Dantas made her return to the court for the first time since last season and earned nine points. The Lynx fall to 3-10 and will continue their home stand with a matchup against the Indiana Fever (3-12) on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.