The first of four games between the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins has been postponed in the aftermath of a police-involved shooting that took the life of a 20 year-old Black man outside of Minneapolis last night. The Twins statement says that they have “decided in the best interest of [our] fans, staff, players and community not to play today’s game.” The full statement can be seen below. The remainder of the Red Sox-Twins series is in question and more information should become available as the situation evolves.
The shooting of 20 year-old Daunte Wright comes in the midst of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd last summer. Wright was involved in a traffic stop yesterday in Brooklyn Center, MN, less than 10 miles from Target Field, when he was shot and killed by police. Body camera footage was released by the city this afternoon shortly before first pitch. With protests likely coming, it is in the best interest of the team to cancel the game. There will also likely be a curfew implemented in the city which would not allow the game to be played as scheduled.
An option for the series would be to move it to Boston and include a double-header within the next three days. With this situation still unfolding, it is possible that the teams would be unable to play any of the series in Minneapolis. The postponement puts the Red Sox six-game winning streak on hold as they hope to carry that momentum against the Twins. MartÃn Perez was scheduled to go up against J.A. Happ this afternoon. We will keep you up to speed as this situation evolves and more information becomes available.
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Photo: (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)