Minnesota Twins Game Grades: O's Walkoff with Win, 3-2

Minnesota Twins’ come up short as Baltimore wins with a walkoff

It was a long time coming for the Minnesota Twins (0-1) and Baltimore Orioles (1-) but after a pair of rain delays, the season opener finally got underway in Baltimore with a 3-2 win for the O’s.

Baltimore took home the victory with a walk-off single from catcher Matt Wieters off reliever Kevin Jepsen.

Starters Ervin Santana and Chris Tillman both saw their days come to an early end following the day’s second rain delay.

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For the Twins’ offense, that may have been for the best as Tillman ended his day striking out five straight Twins.

The bullpens took over from there and pitched effectively the rest of the way. The Orioles struck first with a two-run double from outfielder Adam Jones that gave them an early 2-0 lead.

Shortstop Eduardo Escobar got the Twins’ scoring started with an RBI double. Catcher Kurt Suzuki followed with a sacrifice fly that drove in Byung Ho Park and tied it at 2-all.

Overall, the Twins stayed in the game and fought their way back which is encouraging but in the end it was the Orioles who rewarded their fans for sticking with them for a near six-hour afternoon at Camden Yards.

Final. 3. 11. 2. 2

. OFFENSE . C. Once again the spark plug here is Escobar. Overall, the Twins’ offense struggled mightily against Baltimore but Escobar was able to create some run-scoring opportunities and drive in a run when the Twins needed it most. <a href=.

B-. Aside from <a href=. . The Bullpen. PITCHING

A. The outfield in general looked good, Sano included. Aside from a couple of plays that saw Sano take some awkward routes to the ball and a few awkward throws into the field, Sano looked better than expected. Buxton made some fine catches in the outfield, particularly on a ball crushed by <a href=. . . DEFENSE

Next: Pre-Season Staff Predictions

The Twins will face the Baltimore Orioles for game two of the series, Wednesday night at 7:05 EST/6:05 CST at Camden Yards. Kyle Gibson will face Yovani Gallardo as the Twins look to even up the series and nab their first win of the 2016 season. Gibson will begin his 2016 campaign with hopes of improving on his success from 2015 while Gallardo will make his debut with the Orioles.