Game 1 – BAL 1 MIN 2Game 1 of the set matched up Dylan Bundy and Ervin Santana. They did not disappoint. Trey Mancini got the Orioles started with a solo home run in the 3rd inning. Dylan Bundy was effective shutting out the Twins through six. Unfortunately, he went out to the mound for the 7th inning. After a walk and a couple of singles, Bundy got touched up for a sacrifice fly. Mychal Givens was summoned from the bullpen to keep the score tied with just one out……and he delivered a strike out! Only it got past the catcher and Jorge Polanco scampered (a word only used in sports) home for the go ahead run. The Twins got good work from their bullpen to lock down the final two innings, with Kintzler earning a save. This was a tightly contested, well-pitched game which seemed to foreshadow a close series.
Game 2 - BAL 2 MIN 3
Looking to even up the series, Baltimore got out of the gates fast, scoring 2-out runs in each of the first 2 innings. Adams Jones drove home Seth Smith with a single to get the scoring started. Mark Trumbo hit a solo HR in the 2nd. The Twins picked up a run in the 4th with a 2-out run of their own. Byron Buxton doubled home Eddie Rosario. Kevin Gausman pitched well for the Orioles but was lifted in the 6th inning, having thrown 95 pitches. For the Twins, Jose Berrios was effective after those early hiccups, striking out 9 in 6.1 innings. The Orioles took their one-run lead all the way to the 9th inning where they saw the Twins get to their bullpen. Four singles plated two runs to give the Twins the home victory. Buxton drove in the tying run, while Dozier singled home the winner. Eddie Rosario was the standout offensive performer for the victorious Twins, going 3 for 4 and scoring 2 runs.
Game 3 - MIN 7 BAL 5The series shifted to Baltimore as the Orioles, and started Wade Miley, hoped to push the series to a fourth game. The Twins countered with Kyle Gibson. The Orioles looked up to the challenge, getting 2 runs in the first. They added solo runs in the 3rd and 4th to build a 4-0 lead. The Twins bounced back with 3 runs in the 6th inning, sending 8 men to the plate. This put the ball in the hands of the shaky Orioles bullpen to get nine outs and hold onto the 1-run lead. Danny Santana (don’t the Twins always have a Santana?) drove in 2 runs in the 7th and Orioles never caught up. The Twins tacked on solo home runs in the 8th by Polanco and in the 9th by Miguel Sano. The Twins advance to take on the Red Sox in the AL half of the bracket. Polanco was 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs in game 3, giving him a .625 batting average for the three-game series.
--Report by Steve Roman--
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