There’s always optimism as the Major League Baseball season opens, and then … there’s the weather.

It’s chilly at Target Field as the Twins face the Houston Astros. But the sun popped out just before first pitch, so the complaints are … fewer.

We’ll keep you updated from the park in this “rematch” of the 2023 American League playoffs.

The Astros and Twins both opened the season 2-4.

The Twins won their past two games in Chicago against the White Sox to pull out of a four-game losing streak.

Some between-innings reading:

• Check out the new food offerings at Target Field, and what our Taste staff things about them here.
• Listen to columnist La Velle E. Neal and podcast host Michael Rand talk about the opener and other sports news of the day here.
• Wednesday’s victory in Chicago kept the Twins on the right track. The game story is here.
• La Velle asks “What Makes An Ace” here.
• Cory Provus missed Wednesday’s game for a darn good reason.

The Twins and Astros have a built-in day off tomorrow (in case today’s game was rained out) and will resume the three-game series on Saturday.

And don’t forget to sign up for our Twins newsletter here. It will debut next week.