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Minnesota Twins: Offense, pitching shut down Orioles, 13-2

By Jordan Wickstrom

Sep 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier (2) hits a sacrifice fly during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier (2) hits a sacrifice fly during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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Offensive explosion, pitching lead Minnesota Twins past O’s

It may only be March but already the Minnesota Twins’ (2-1-1) offense was showing off some serious fireworks with a 13-2 blowout of the Baltimore Orioles (0-4).

Second baseman Brian Dozier set the tone of Saturday’s game with a leadoff homerun that gave the Twins an early 1-0 lead. And despite the Orioles taking a 2-1 lead in the second inning after Ervin Santana gave up two unearned runs, that was really the only threat they posted against the Twins for the rest of the afternoon.

After catcher Kurt Suzuki tied the game in the bottom of the second with a two-out RBI single that plated designated hitter Byung Ho Park, the Twins would continue to score 11 unanswered runs the rest of the way.

Outfielder Eddie Rosario gave the Twins the lead for good with his first home run of the spring off of Parker Bridwell.

First baseman Joe Mauer’s RBI groundout in the bottom of the fifth would double the Twins’ lead at 4-2, but it was the following inning where the offense really took control.

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The Twins scored eight runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by a pair of doubles from outfielder Joe Benson and catcher Juan Centeno.

The following inning, Centeno put the stamp on the victory with a solo home run to give the Twins a 13-2 lead.

Despite a 13-run outing from the offense, the argument could be made that the biggest highlight of the day was the Twins’ pitching performance.

Santana made his Spring debut with two innings of work. He gave up two unearned runs in the second, allowed two hits and two walks while striking out two.

The relief core took over the rest of the way. Our pick for the No. 2 top prospect Jose Berrios came in and worked 1 1/3 innings but mostly struggled with his control as he walked three batters and allowed a hit. Berrios, however, was able to strike out one and did not give up a run during his appearance.

Six more relievers came in for the Twins and allowed just three hits and one walk for the remaining 5 2/3 innings of the work.

Next up for the Twins is a game on Sunday at the Tampa Bay Rays. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 EST/12:05 CT. Kyle Gibson is scheduled to make his Spring Training debut against the Rays.

Takeaways

-It may only be the third game of the spring and it may only be against an Orioles squad that doesn’t feature the big bats of Chris Davis, Matt Wieters or Adam Jones, but it is encouraging to see the bullpen go about their business and throw seven innings of lockdown, shutout ball.

-Once again the offense was a key factor in the win, scoring 13 runs. Through four games, the Twins are now averaging 6.75 runs per game. Obviously this is not representative of what to expect the rest of the way this spring or this upcoming regular season but it is a positive sight to see the Twins not wasting any time to get the bats going.

–Byron Buxton picked up a sac fly that scored Engelb Vielma, but was unable to pick up a hit. However, a good sign is he did not strike out and reached on an error in the bottom of fifth.

Next: Depth Danger: Second Baseman

-Brian Dozier continues his monster start to the spring with a leadoff home run. Dozier is now hitting .667 this spring and if he continues to hit this well, will ruin my prediction of Buxton being the Twins’ Opening Day leadoff hitter.

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