Orioles 6, Twins 2: That's a Wrap

09/29/2024 06:54 PM

Minnesota finishes 82-80. Plus, comments from the ownership and front office.

Game Summary:

The Twins' 2024 season comes to an end. Early Carlos Santana and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. solo homers weren't enough as Baltimore rallied for three in the 5th against Bailey Ober and tacked on a few more late to make it stand up. Orioles 6, Twins 2.

Game Highlights and Notes:

Bailey Ober went to the mound looking to put a positive cap on his strongest MLB campaign to date. It was his 31st start of the season, five more than he made in 2023, and part of his continued development into a workhorse starting pitcher.

(As an aside, you might be interested in Ober's recent conversation with FanGraphs' David Laurila, including some comments from Twins' pitching coach Pete Maki.)

Things started smoothly when Ober set the Orioles down in order to begin the ballgame. The Twins stranded Austin Martin's double in their half.

Ober found his way into, and out of, trouble in the Orioles' second. Two one-out singles created a scoring chance, but Ober coaxed a fielder's choice and a flyout to keep the game tied.

First baseman Carlos Santana led off the Minnesota second by bashing an 0-2 curveball over the fence in right-center field for his 23rd home run. Twins 1, Orioles 0

After Ober had another clean inning, Minnesota rookie outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. got to experience a moment that he'll never forget by turning on a first-pitch fastball for his first major league home run. Twins 2, Orioles 0

The 4th inning was quiet on both sides, but the Orioles got something going by starting their half of the fifth with back-to-back singles with no one out. After a short flyout, Ober caught too much of the plate with an elevated changeup, which Baltimore backstop James McCann deposited it deep into the left-field bleachers. Orioles 3, Twins 2

Ober would finish the inning and then his day (and season) were done. His line: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, and 4 K. Over 178 ²⁄₃ innings (almost 35 more than 2023), Ober pitched to a 3.98 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP, the fifth-lowest in team history for a starter behind three Johan Santana seasons and Dean Chance in 1968, per Twins Radio.

Minnesota's bats experienced some bad luck in the 5th and 6th innings when hard line drives by Christian Vázquez (104.6 mph) and Royce Lewis (96.5) found gloves, but other than those two plays not much else was doing.

Jorge Alcala worked a scoreless 6th with two strikeouts, giving him three scoreless outings in a row to finish the season on a good note.

Cole Sands came on for the 7th but was lifted mid-inning after appearing to aggravate the left knee injury that he's been pitching through. Sands allowed a walk and a single, and got a strikeout, before departing. Scott Blewett tried to stem the tide with a strikeout of McCann but walked Jackson Holliday to load the bases and allowed a clean two-run single to Jordan Westburg before getting the third out. Orioles 5, Twins 2

The Twins got a walk from Santana and a single from Manuel Margot in the 7th but weren't able to cash them in.

Randy Dobnak, back in the majors again after being promoted this morning, took over on the mound for the final two innings. Dobnak allowed a solo homer to Heston Kjerstad in the 8th to extend the Orioles' lead to 4 runs. Orioles 6, Twins 2

Martin singled in the 8th and Margot did as well in the 9th, but the rest of the Twins went down quietly over the final two innings.

Studs:

• Carlos Santana: 1-2, HR, 2 BB
• DaShawn Keirsey Jr.: 1-2, HR (1st of career)
• Austin Martin: 2-4, 2B
• Manuel Margot: 2-4
• Aaron Gleeman (see more below)

Duds:

• Edouard Julien, 0-4, 2K
• Christian Vázquez, 0-4, 2K

Next:

Facing the reality of opportunity missed and not getting it done.

Through much of the pre-game and early innings of Game 162 (conveniently, while many were focused on the Vikings' big early lead over the Packers) came newsworthy pieces of information from the organization's leadership. First, Derek Falvey confirmed to the media before the game that field manager Rocco Baldelli will return in 2025. Then Executive Chair Joe Pohlad told the media that Derek Falvey would return as well. Neither commented definitively about other potential changes to the front office or coaching staff.

The Athletic's Aaron Gleeman took the opportunity of a rare Pohlad interaction with the media to press the ownership group's public face with a direct line of questioning about the club's payroll decisions, impact on the fanbase, and future outlook in that area. Here's the transcript of Gleeman's questions, his follow-up questions, and Pohlad's responses:

Shortly after that, Gleeman's counterpart at The Athletic, Dan Hayes, reported this:

Make of all of that what you will. The offseason is already underway in Minnesota.