Twins 6, Orioles 5; Twins 16, Orioles 7
Home runs sink the O’s
Twins smash 11 homers in sweep; Davis forced to pitch
If these are the times that try a manager’s soul, Brandon Hyde is trying not to show it.
Yes, that’s what the 150 stands for on every big leaguer’s sleeve. And over those 150 years, no team has given up as many homers before the end of April as the rebuilding O’s.
In fact, the only team to come at all close was the 1996 Detroit Tigers who — until Saturday — held the record for home runs before May 1 with 50. The Orioles shattered it with the willing help of the Minnesota Twins, who hit 11 homers on the way to a resounding sweep of the rain-makeup doubleheader at Camden Yards.
The Orioles have now given up 57, and as you probably have noticed, there are still 10 days left in April, but Hyde has never lost his game face — or his temper. He has yet to let anyone see him sweat.
“We’ve given up a lot of home runs,’’ he said. “We’re looking to execute a little better with two strikes. A lot of damage is done with two strikes against us, and it’s just something we’ve got to get better at.”
If that sounded pretty dispassionate, it was, but that was what he said in between the two games, which was after the Orioles gave up three homers in a tight 6-5 loss to move to within one homer of tying this particularly dubious record.
Of course, it was not the first time the subject has come up and it would not be the last time on Saturday.
The Twins hit eight more on the way to a crazy 16-7 victory in the nightcap, which featured an early inning meltdown by Alex Cobb in his first start back from a stay on the injured list with back soreness and a ninth-inning relief appearance by first baseman Chris Davis.
Former Oriole Nelson Cruz and catcher Mitch Garver hit two home runs in the second game. Left fielder Eddie Rosario hit two homers in the first game and another in the night cap. Jonathan Schoop welcomed himself back to town with two homers and two doubles in the two games.
Obviously, the conditions were right for an unscheduled baseball giveaway in the left field bleachers. There was a nice breeze blowing from right field to left and the weather is just starting to warm up.
The Orioles took advantage of their cozy ballpark, too, hitting three homers in the first game and three more in the second. Designated hitter Renato Nunez hit one in the first game and two more in the nightcap.
The opposing tater total is bad enough, but the number of balls hit out of Oriole Park this season is even more striking, if you’re pardon the unintentional play on words, Orioles pitchers have given up 39 home runs here, or an average of 4.3 homers in just nine home games.
The first game of the doubleheader was tolerable. The Orioles were in it right to the end and came up an eighth-inning hit short of what would have been a satisfying comeback victory.
“Yeah, I thought we battled, like normal,” Hyde said. “Just came up a run short and I liked the way we swung the bat...put together a nice rally in the eighth inning and just came up a little short.”
First game starter Dan Straily gave up three solo homers in a five-inning performance, but the game was tied when he turned it over to the bullpen. The Twins scored three times to take the lead in the sixth inning, which was the only time they scored in the game without hitting a home run.
The Orioles chipped away with a sixth-inning homer by catcher Pedro Severino and an RBI double by Trey Mancini in the eighth.
The only pitching highlights in the second game were the major league debut of right-hander Brandon Kline and the second career appearance on the mound by Davis.
Kline was the extra player allowed for the second game of the doubleheader and took the mound in the seventh inning. But he wasn’t immune to the long ball epidemic, allowing the final Twins homers to Garver and Cruz in the eighth. Davis didn’t get off easy either. Schoop hit a long home run in the ninth — his second of the game and the 17th homer of the day.
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