The Twins did what they had to do Sunday: they answered Baltimore’s early punch, kept swinging back, and walked away with a 7-5 win to take the series.
That mattered because the Orioles entered the day just half a game behind Minnesota in the American League Wild Card race. The Twins were also chasing their sixth straight series win, and they got there by turning a shaky start into an offensive back-and-forth that eventually tilted their way.
Zebby Matthews was on the mound for Minnesota, and the first few innings were rough. Gunnar Henderson opened with a walk, Pete Alonso followed with a single, and Jackson Holliday’s force-out put Baltimore on the board first.
After a couple of quiet singles in the second, the Orioles struck again in the third. Alonso and Tyler O’Neill both singled, and then Dylan Beavers jumped on a hanging curveball from Matthews, sending it into the right-field overhang for a three-run shot and a 4-0 Baltimore lead.
Minnesota didn’t stay down long. The Twins offense answered in the first, with Josh Bell drawing Trevor Larnach in on a single to tie things up.
Then came the big third inning, when Minnesota stacked six hits and a sacrifice fly across seven batters to surge in front 5-4. Kody Clemens, Victor Caratini, and Alan Roden each delivered RBI knocks before Shane Baz finally got out of the inning, and then out of the game altogether.
His line: 3 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, BB, 2 K.
Matthews settled in after the third, retiring Baltimore in order in both the fourth and fifth. He finished after 94 pitches, giving up six hits, four earned runs, two walks, and four strikeouts.
The Twins kept extending the cushion in the fifth against Cam Sanders and Yaramil Hiraldo. Caratini and Roden stayed hot with a single and a double off Sanders, and when Hiraldo entered, the trouble only grew. Larnach grounded out to score Caratini, and Royce Lewis doubled home Roden to make it 7-4.
Baltimore had one last push in the seventh, and Jeff Hoffman made it messy with two two-out walks and a wild pitch. But after the fifth inning, neither side managed another hit until Yoendrys Gomez allowed a homer to Leody Taveras and then issued a walk.
Andrew Morris and A. J.
Minter handled clean innings from there, and Gomez finished the ninth by fielding the next two balls in play. Minnesota closed it out and claimed the series.
Alan Roden was a big reason why, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, a run, and an RBI. Josh Bell finished 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.
Royce Lewis added a pair of doubles, a run, an RBI, and a strikeout. Andrew Morris and A.
J. Minter combined for two innings and four strikeouts.
Next up, the Twins head into a tougher stretch while continuing their quasi-homestand with a trip to the cornfields of Iowa for a series against the Philadelphia Phillies at the Field of Dreams. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
Central in a game that will count as a home game for Minnesota. Taj Bradley, 9-4 with a 3.76 ERA, gets the ball for the Twins, and Philadelphia will counter with Aaron Nola, who is 3-9 with a 5.47 ERA.
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