Minnesota Twins Game Grades: Twins Fall to 0-2

Minnesota Twins drop another one to the Orioles

The Minnesota Twins fell to 0-2 early in this 2016 season with a loss to the Baltimore Orioles in the 2nd game of their 3 game set.

Kyle Gibson got the start and went 5 innings. Unfortunately, he wasn’t very effective. He allowed 4 earned runs, 7 hits, 5 walks, and a home run while striking out 3.

Gibson threw 105 pitches.

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Fernando Abad took over with the Twins down 4-1 in the 6th and threw a scoreless inning. Casey Fien handled the 7th allowing a walk and nothing more. Ryan Pressly handled a scoreless 8th.

Offensively, the Twins first got on the board in the 3rd when Joe Mauer hit a sac fly to score Byron Buxton. Trevor Plouffe added the other Twins’ run with a solo home run in the 6th.

Unfortunately, that’s all the offense that the Twins were able to manage on the night. It was the second straight game they scored just 2 runs.

11. 2. 2. Final. 4

D+. 5 hits, 6 walks, 13 strikeouts, 1 home run and 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position. Too many strikeouts and a failure to take advantage with runners in scoring position. Plouffe and Buxton did what they could with a home run and 2 doubles respectively. . . Byron Buxton. OFFENSE

D. Totals: 7 hits allowed, 5 walks, 1 home run and 3 strikeouts. Gibson didn’t have the start to the 2016 season that he wanted. His command was shaky and got hit hard several times. . . Kyle Gibson. STARTERS

. Ryan Pressly. RELIEVERS . A-. The relievers did a great job preventing the Orioles from extending their lead. They posted 3 strikeouts in their 3 innings of work

. Byron Buxton. DEFENSE . B. The Twins didn’t make any errors on the evening and completed a nice double play but <strong><a href=

Next: 2016 Puckett's Staff Predictions

MVT: Byron Buxton

The Twins will face the Orioles tomorrow evening at Camden Yards to wrap up their 3 game set. First pitch is at 6:05 PM CT. Phil Hughes will get the start the Twins.