After three innings the score stood 6-0 Baltimore Orioles. Felix Jorge had given up six runs in 2.2 innings and would be sent down to Double-A after the game, but the Minnesota Twins scored nine unanswered runs, including five in the fifth inning, to beat the O’s 9-6.
“It was a really entertaining game,” said Twins manager Paul Molitor. “There were some twists and turns early we had to overcome. Over the course of the season you’re going to have a handful of games that stand out. The overall team effort we had picking up Jorge with good team pitching and the rally we had. We didn’t get too deflated. We played good defense and ran the bases well. A lot of positives in the game.”
Rookie Trevor Hildenberger got his first win, giving up only two hits in 2.1 innings of relief.
“He’s only had a few outings,” said Molitor. “He’s been getting extended more so than in the Minors. He has a different look. He’s confident with all his pitches. To get him through the lineup one time gave us a chance to settle the game down and get something going offensively.”
“It was thrilling,” said Hildenberger. “I think the best part of it was the big comeback. Being in the dugout for those two big rallies was really, really fun. It kind of makes me want to be in the dugout all the time.”
Kennys Vargas went 3-for-4 in his return from Triple-A, knocking in an RBI single in the fourth and an RBI double in the Twins five-run fifth inning.
“That was a nice response to a brief stint down there,” said Molitor. “Some of those things we talked about before he left were on display tonight. We’re hoping that’ll hold. He was a bit more aggressive, looking for pitches to drive, and using that left-center field gap as a power alley.”
An error by Baltimore shortstop Ruben Tejada allowed Miguel Sano to advance with one out in the fourth, and a string of singles by Max Kepler, Vargas and Eddie Rosario put the Twins back on the board.
Then a leadoff triple by Brian Dozier, an RBI double by Robbie Grossman, another Baltimore error and an RBI single by Max Kepler chased Orioles starter Kevin Gausman.
Polanco would hit into a double-play to tend the inning three batters later, but by then the damage was done. Ryan Pressly worked out of a jam in the sixth to maintain the lead, and Matt Belisle, Taylor Rogers and Brandon Kintzler held the O’s scoreless to complete the comeback victory.
“He hasn’t had a chance to pitch in a while,” Molitor said of Pressly, who was making his first appearance since July 1. “We’ve had some quality starts, which has kind of limited the guys we’ve used here recently, between him and Phil and Hildenberger and Matty to some degree, they’ve kind of been on the shelf here for four days or so.
“I kept telling Press, ‘Just keep working and you’re gonna get a spot where you’re going to need to step up and have a good outing for us.’ And tonight, after coming in with a base runner and giving up a hit, and putting a zero on the board — especially with the big strikeout in a second-and-third situation … it was a stage in the game where I didn’t want to push it. A good outing for him and something positive to build on.”
The Twins tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth. Eddie Rosario led off with a double, Buxton drove him in and then score from first base on a Dozier single.
“It’s just one of those plays, I could see how it kind of split the gap, and it was gonna be … if there was any attempt to try to just get the ball quickly, that Geno [third base coach Gene Glynn] was gonna go ahead and take a shot at at it,” said Molitor.
“We had the right guy running on that play.”
The game looked over in the third inning, with the scoreboard reading 6-0 Orioles. Jorge will return to Double-A and red-hot outfielder Zach Granite has been called up from Triple-A. Minnesota still needs to fill out their rotation, something that may be solved with the signing of Bartolo Colon, but for now a come from behind victory keeps them 1.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central with two games to go until the All-Star Break.
