The Twins’ lineup for Game 2 of 162 on Saturday afternoon in St. Louis includes a pair of changes from their 5-3 Opening Day loss to the Cardinals.

Christian Vazquez is in for Ryan Jeffers as part of Minnesota’s standard catcher rotation. He’s hitting ninth. And Harrison Bader, who was the Twins’ best offensive producer in Thursday’s game, takes a seat in favor of Mickey Gasper, who is batting sixth as the designated hitter. That means Trevor Larnach shifts from DH to left field, where Bader played in the opener.

Everything else is essentially the same. Joe Ryan is on the bump for the Twins against the Cardinals’ Erick Fedde, who was acquired in a three-team trade with the White Sox and Dodgers last summer.

Rocco Baldelli’s decision to sit Bader probably shouldn’t be too surprising, even after he hit a two-run homer and a double in four at-bats on Thursday.

Coming into this season, the perception was that Bader would fill in when Byron Buxton needs days off in center field and also make starts in the corners, especially against left-handed starters, so it was slightly unexpected to see him in the Opening Day lineup against righty Sonny Gray.

Bader was the bright spot of the Twins’ offense in Game 1, but he also has a career .672 OPS against right-handed pitching.

It’s understandable for Minnesota to want a look at Gasper, who hit .308 with a .904 OPS and a team-high eight walks in spring training.

The 29-year-old switch hitter raked in the minor leagues last year with the Red Sox organization and is seeking his first MLB hit.

Notably not in the starting lineup for either of the season’s first two games is Edouard Julien, who had a very solid spring and is hoping for a bounce-back 2025 campaign.

Even with Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee on the IL, Julien hasn’t yet cracked the lineup. It’ll be interesting to see if he appears off the bench on Saturday and/or starts in Sunday’s series finale.

Saturday’s first pitchis at 1:15 p.m. central time.