Late in the season, the Minnesota Twins decided to test out one of the rising strategies in the MLB- an opener. In this strategy, an “opener”, typically a reliever, starts the game and pitches 1 or 2 innings before giving way to the “primary” pitcher, typically a starter who is expected to go several innings after that. The idea behind it is that some starting pitchers do better when they can avoid the top of an opponent’s batting order to start off the game. Teams place a reliever who they feel can better shut down the top of the lineup in for the first inning.
Evaluating the Minnesota Twins’ success with the opener strategy
