OAKLAND, Calif. – The Minnesota Twins have been cleared to travel and are continuing plans for a doubleheader in Oakland on Tuesday after their season was interrupted by coronavirus concerns.
The Twins have not played to enable virus testing and contact tracking since Friday, as the club has undergone at least four positive coronavirus tests in the past week.
Kyle Garlick, another unnamed Twins player and a team member tested positive in the two days before the postponement against the Angels, manager Rocco Baldelli said this weekend. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons had already not made the trip to Anaheim after a positive test at the beginning of the week.
The games between the Twins and the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim were postponed on Saturday and Sunday, and Monday’s series opener in Oakland was also postponed. That game will be made up as part of Tuesday’s doubleheader.
Minnesota starts Matt Shoemaker in Game 1 and Jose Berrios in Game 2 of the straight doubleheader, before throwing Kenta Maeda on Wednesday. The A’s have not yet announced any likely startups.
Six MLB games have been postponed this year due to the virus, including a season-opening three game series between the Nationals and Mets following concerns about the coronavirus in Washington.
Last year, 45 games were postponed for the regular season for virus-related reasons, but only two – between St. Louis and Detroit – were not made up.