Byron Buxton didn’t play a single major league inning in center field last year, so it’s not so surprising that the Twins are still in the early stages of figuring out what his workload in the outfield will look like this season.

Mostly, they’re reacting to how he’s feeling.

“Absolutely,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I’d be lying if I said any different.”

Through the team’s first six games, Buxton has been in center in four of them. He’s had two days at designated hitter — the role he held last season. The Twins have also had a pair of off days since the regular season began March 28.

The plan for now, Baldelli said, is to just play it day by day.

“If he does need a DH day or not even need a DH day — if it just makes sense to give him a DH day in order to keep him back on the field the following day, then we do that,” Baldelli said.

Buxton was limited to just hitting last year because of a right knee that has twice been surgically repaired. But the knee, by all accounts, has been feeling much better this year, allowing him to go back into the outfield — even if the Twins are monitoring his usage there.

“I think we’ll fall into some sort of rotation where we’ll see him in the field, we’ll see him DHing, maybe play a couple days in a row in the field, then see him DHing again,” Baldelli said. “I think we could see something like that, but it’s all going to have to do with how he comes out of the games. And what he had to do in the game.”

Twins dedicate television booth

Minnesota Twins broadcaster Dick Bremer, right, is hugged by former Twins player Joe Mauer after Bremer threw the ceremonial first pitch to start the Twins home opener against the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field in Minneapolis on Thursday, April 4, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Dick Bremer pulled the red covering off the plaque outside the home television booth at Target Field, and with that, the area was renamed after the man who had spent so many hours calling that booth home.

The Twins honored Bremer’s 40-year career as their television play-by-play announcer ahead of their home opener, starting with the dedication of the Dick Bremer TV Booth. Later in the day, after the Twins played a highlight video celebrating him, he gave his traditional left-handed toast and threw out a ceremonial first pitch to Joe Mauer, whose whole career Bremer witnessed and called from the booth.

Bremer stepped down after last season and is now a special assistant in the Twins front office.

It was an emotional day for Bremer, whose wife and two children were with him, as well as four people from his hometown of Dumont, Minn., including his elementary school teacher.

“Somebody asked me the other day about the 40 years, and it’s true for I think anybody who is lucky enough to love what they do professionally, whatever the profession is. You do 40 years and the time goes by like that,” Bremer said, with a snap of the fingers. “I can remember that first game in 1983 like it was the first game of 2023, and so I’ve really been blessed.”

Briefly

The Twins will have Friday off before returning to play the Guardians on Saturday. Joe Ryan will take the ball, opposed by Carlos Carrasco. … Alex Kirilloff, who tripled on both Wednesday and Thursday, doubled the number of triples he had hit in his entire career. He is the first Twin to hit a triple in back-to-back games since Buxton in June 2022.

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A bull elephant charged a truck that a 79-year-old Twin Cities woman was riding in with other tourists on a game drive in a Zambian national park, flipping over the vehicle and killing her, a safari company said.

Family and friends identified the victim to Twin Cities media as Minnetonka resident Gail Mattson, who also had a home in Arizona.

The attack injured five others on March 30 in the vast Kafue National Park, which covers 8,600 square miles and is one of Africa’s largest animal reserves.

According to the safari company Wilderness, the “aggressive” bull elephant unexpectedly charged at the truck, which was carrying six guests and a guide on a morning excursion through wild areas.

It wasn’t clear what upset the bull. But in a video widely circulated online, the pachyderm is seen menacingly charging through the bushy terrain toward the tourists’ vehicle. A man is heard shouting “hey hey hey,” in apparent but futile efforts to scare it away. It reaches the truck and flips it over using its trunk.

Another female tourist was seriously injured and flown by helicopter to South Africa for treatment while the rest were treated for minor injuries, the company said.

“This is a devastating incident for everyone involved and we are doing our best to support the family and all affected,” Tarryn Gibson, the safari company’s head of communications told the Associated Press on Thursday. Gibson did not identify the tourist who was killed, citing privacy concerns. The company also asked people to not share the video of the attack online.

While many wildlife parks in southern Africa teem with dangerous animals like elephants and lions, such incidents are rare, although they sometimes do occur with fatal consequences due to the unpredictability of wild animals.

Keith Vincent, chief executive officer of the safari company, said rough terrain minimized chances of an escape.

“Our guides are all extremely well trained and experienced, but sadly in this instance the terrain and vegetation was such that the guide’s route became blocked and he could not move the vehicle out of harm’s way quickly enough” he said.

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Three Minnesota conservative groups whose Golden Valley offices burned earlier this year in a suspected arson are significantly boosting their reward for information leading to an arrest.

The Center of the American Experiment, Upper Midwest Law Center and Take Charge are now offering up to $100,000 for information on the fire at their offices. If one person is arrested and convicted, the reward is $50,000, and the amount doubles if the information turns up a second.

Federal law enforcement is investigating the suspected arson, which happened in the early morning hours of Jan. 28 at an office building in the 8000 block of Wayzata Boulevard.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating with the FBI, Minnesota State Fire Marshal, Golden Valley fire, Hennepin County fire investigative team and Hennepin County sheriff, an ATF spokesperson said in February.

Security camera

So far, very little information has been released in the case, though Center of the American Experiment president John Hinderaker said an individual could be seen on a security camera holding what appears to be a gasoline can before the fire started.

“As far as I know, that is the only video footage anybody’s got, said Hinderaker. “It seems to me that whoever carried out this crime was relatively professional. They don’t seem to have made any the rookie mistakes, you know, that often get criminals caught.”

Initially, the groups had offered a reward of up to $15,000 for information, but there still haven’t been any major developments in the case, at least publicly. Hinderaker said they hope the boost will be an added incentive for someone with knowledge of the case to come forward.

“It’s been a little over two months, without any arrests,” he said. “We thought that having an eye-catching reward might shake something loose.”

Information can be submitted to the FBI by phone at 763-569-8000 or online at tips.fbi.gov.

Two fires

The suspected arson happened in an office building occupied by the three conservative groups and several other tenants, including the Manufacturers Alliance, a chiropractor and psychologists’ offices.

Two fires were set in the building: one on the first floor in the hall between Take Charge and American Experiment, and the other on the third floor outside the office of the Upper Midwest Law Center.

“The corridor looks like a bomb went off. The elevators are destroyed, and that whole south half of the middle of the building is destroyed,” said Hinderaker, noting that the offices of his organization didn’t burn because the fire department was able to arrive in time to knock down the blaze.

Still, the damage was extensive enough to shut the building down for more than a year, he said. Staff have been working remotely, though they’re moving into a new office on April 15.

Hinderaker in February said there’s no evidence of fire damage on the second floor, and that he believes his and the other organizations were targeted for their politics.

Conservative groups

The three organizations displaced by the fire are key players in Minnesota’s conservative politics. The Center of the American Experiment refers to itself as “Minnesota’s Think Tank” and regularly publishes analysis of Minnesota public affairs from a conservative perspective.

The Upper Midwest Law Center is involved in many legal cases advancing conservative priorities.

Take Charge is headed by former Republican gubernatorial and congressional candidate Kendall Qualls and his wife Sheila. Its aim is “to inspire and educate black and other minority communities of their full rights and privileges as Americans granted to them by the Constitution,” according to the group’s website.

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An announced crowd of 35,595 fans huddled into Target Field on Thursday afternoon to greet the new season. They were treated to a game that looked much like last year’s early-season efforts.

The Twins’ offense, which broke through with a late spark on Wednesday, was unable to capitalize on its many opportunities on Thursday, striking out 15 times in a 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians in Minnesota’s home opener.

That started in the first inning when the red-hot Alex Kirilloff hit a one-out triple, his second triple in as many days — he had two in his career before Wednesday — and was stranded on third. An inning later, with the bases loaded and two outs, Edouard Julien took a pitch at the bottom of the strike zone for called strike three.

Julien would later provide one of the Twins’ only runs of the day, hitting an opposite-field solo home run out to left that just kept carrying.

But the Twins’ offense would never be able to make Cleveland pay, finishing the day 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine on base. The other run the Twins scored came in the seventh inning when Willi Castro raced home on a wild pitch.

The offensive effort meant the Twins were unable to catch up once starter Pablo López ran into trouble in the fourth inning.

López began his day with three perfect innings before the Guardians ambushed him with four singles in the fourth inning. Add in a sacrifice fly and the three-run inning was enough to put the Twins in a hole for good.

The Guardians tacked on one more run in the sixth inning, scoring on a rare Carlos Correa error but then running into an out at the plate to end the inning.