Final
Slumping O's go at it again with Twins
Apr 19, 2011 - 2:48 PMVideo
Baltimore's young starting pitching grabbed headlines through the first week of the season, as the Orioles won their first four and six of the first seven games. However, the wheels have come off since then and the team has struggled to find its way both on the mound and at the plate, where the Orioles are hitting a mere .226.
The trend continued in Monday's opener, as Danny Valencia went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, helping Minnesota to a 5-3 win. Drew Butera added two hits and three RBI for the Twins, who have won two in a row since a four-game losing streak.
Francisco Liriano (1-3) earned his first win of the season, lasting 6 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on five hits and five walks with two strikeouts. Matt Capps also picked up his second save since assuming the closer's role from an ineffective Joe Nathan.
"It's about controlling the game and not letting the game control you, and [Liriano] did that very well," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of his starter.
Chris Tillman (0-2) went 6 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits while striking out five to take the loss.
"It's frustrating right now. Nothing is going our way," Tillman said.
Adam Jones, Matt Wieters and Luke Scott all belted solo home runs to account for the offense for the Orioles, who were just 2-for-20 with runners in scoring position. Baltimore has also managed just 20 runs during the losing streak, plating three or less in six of those contests.
"No one else in the league is [feeling sorry for us]," Jones said. "I am still excited about [the offense]," Jones added. "You've never heard about anybody going in a slump? It's what, [15] games in the season? Not everybody is going to rake the entire season, so it's a spell."
The slide is the longest for the O's since a 10-game drought from May 26-June 5 of last season.
Getting the call for the Twins tonight will be righty Carl Pavano, who has been terrific since losing on Opening Day. Pavano surrendered seven earned runs over four innings in his initial start, but has rebounded with two eight- inning efforts and has allowed just one run in those outings to lower his earned run average to 3.60 on the year.
Pavano, though, did not get a decision on Thursday against Tampa Bay, despite scattering four hits over eight scoreless innings. He is 1-1 on the year.
In nine starts against the Orioles, Pavano has posted a 5-3 mark to go along with a 2.75 ERA.
Baltimore will rely on the right arm of Jake Arrieta to get it untracked. Arrieta rebounded from a poor outing against Texas that set this streak off to pitch six solid innings against the New York Yankees. However, he did not get a decision in his team's 6-5 loss and allowed three runs and five hits.
Arrieta, who is 1-1 with a 7.04 ERA on the year, lost his only other start to the Twins last season and was pounded for five runs in just four innings.
Minnesota was 5-3 against the O's last season.
- MINNESOTA: 0
BALTIMORE: 11
Final
Apr 19 10:00 PM - Vladimir Guerrero two-out, three-run Home Run (2) to right scored Robert Andino and Nick Markakis. Felix Pie due up.
Twins 0, Orioles 11 Bot 8, 2 OutsApr 19 9:51 PM - Robert Andino singled to short. On the play, Matt Wieters advances home on Alexi Casilla's throwing error error. Runner on first with two outs and Brian Roberts due up.
Twins 0, Orioles 8 Bot 5, 2 OutsApr 19 8:53 PM - Matt Wieters doubled to right scored Derrek Lee, Vladimir Guerrero and Adam Jones. Runner on second with two outs and Robert Andino due up.
Twins 0, Orioles 7 Bot 5, 2 OutsApr 19 8:48 PM - Brian Roberts doubled to right scored Matt Wieters. Runners on second and third with two outs and Nick Markakis due up.
Twins 0, Orioles 4 Bot 4, 2 OutsApr 19 8:18 PM - Brian Roberts singled to center scored Mark Reynolds and Matt Wieters. Runners on first and third with two outs and Nick Markakis due up.
Twins 0, Orioles 3 Bot 2, 2 OutsApr 19 7:41 PM - Matt Wieters singled to center scored Adam Jones. Runners on first and second with two outs and Robert Andino due up.
Twins 0, Orioles 1 Bot 2, 2 OutsApr 19 7:38 PM - MINNESOTA: 0
BALTIMORE: 0
Top 1, 0 Outs
Apr 19 7:09 PM
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