Article author:
Reuters
The Minnesota Twins seek to recover from consecutive walk-off losses when hosting the Baltimore Orioles to open a three-game series in Minneapolis on Friday night.
The Twins lost 5-3 to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday and lost 7-6 a day ago. Both losses occurred on a home run at the end of the game.
Minnesota has lost three out of the last twelve games, dropping three in a five-game set against Cleveland. I think I've participated before, "said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. "I haven't actually seen five games against one team in four days that felt like that."
Well, the twins went home and the road. Do a brief series of 3 games before returning to.
Baltimore has won 11 of the last 18 games, but has lost consecutively to the Seattle Mariners. The Orioles took a break on Thursday after losing two out of three in Seattle.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said his team's June success proved its resilience.
"We have a lot of confidence in our clubhouse and we have a lot of confidence in the dug out," Hyde said. "And it's been a lot of fun."
Part of the reason for that confidence is the Orioles pitching staff.
"We feel calm," Hyde said. “This gives us confidence in the dugout that we will always be in the game. If the couple goes down, we can always come back.”
The Orioles right-handed Spenser Watkins (1-1, 5.14 ERA) will start the tenth season. The 29-year-old is about to win in a row after defeating the Chicago White Sox on a recent outing. He gave up one goal with five hits in five innings.
Watkins made one career start against the Twins, who won a 5-3 victory in Baltimore on May 5th. He allowed 3 runs with 7 hits in 42/3 innings but didn't make the decision to go out.
Minnesota will face right-handed Joe Ryan (6-3, 3.20), who will make his 12th start. He is also aiming for consecutive victories after defeating the Colorado Rockies on his recent expedition last Sunday.
Ryan reduced the Rocky Mountains to three runs with eight hits in five innings. He walked one and hit one.
This is Ryan's second career start to Baltimore. He also did not make a decision at the first meeting, where he abandoned two runs with six hits in 42/3 innings with a victory in Minnesota on May 3.
Despite a recent stumbling block with the Guardians, twin players remain positive in hopes of preventing bad spells from turning into protracted slumps.
"First, we are number one," said Twins shortstop Carlos Correa. "Second, it's been a long time and we know it. I've been on the winning team, but stretches like this always happen ...
" It's new That's not the case. But my job as someone who has been there before is to let people know that it's normal. It happens when you play 162. This is the toughest thing in the world. It's one of the sports. ”
– Field-level media
