Box Score
Bailey Ober: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Jhoan Duran (-.287), Max Kepler (-.150), Carlos Correa (-.149)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

It was Bailey Ober’s third time on Apple TV this year; he knew what he had to do. Facing Cole Irvin and an Orioles team fresh off bopping the Yankees, Ober needed to be sharp, accurate. This young Baltimore lineup is capable of crushing anyone—and their seemingly endless supply of talented bats, constantly refreshing and bolstering the position player pool makes them a tough beat. How did it go?

Early? Slow. Michael A. Taylor started the game with a diving catch before Ober and Christian Vázquez combined for a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play to end the frame. The game was in swing.

And it seemed that the Twins would have the upper-hand. Irvin’s pitching line from his previous rendezvous with Minnesota appears clean, but the batted ball data reveals a shellacking unseen and unfounded; the Twins creamed nine hard-hit balls off the lefty with just one run scored. 

But it was a fresh day, and Irvin found what he didn’t have on Sunday. He was excellent. Minnesota’s batters guessed wrong all night. Three hits—one cheesy; the other a little less so; one a solidly struck double—served as the lone damage Irvin felt, as he struck out four batters over 6 ⅓  innings with no runs scored while he stood on the mound.

He wasn’t alone in his effort, though, as Cedric Mullins stole a three-run homer from Byron Buxton that surely would have changed the game’s complexion—and the shade of purple this prose would be written with. 

It proved a turning point. Anthony Santander smoked a double beyond Donovan Solano, leading Ryan O’Hearn to shoot a single to left, placing runners on the corners with no one out. Mullins—of course—flew a ball deep enough out to right field to score the first run of the game. Ober was a little off his game, walking more than you would expect; perhaps striking out a few less, but the single run was more than Irvin allowed, so Ober could do nothing but watch and hope alongside the fans.

Things turned almost immediately; the Twins tied the game four pitches after Irvin left as the Mahtomedi native, Mike Baumann, served up a single to Willi Castro, allowing Kyle Farmer to score with some wise baserunning. 

So began the late-game, bullpen-ing and lineup shuffling present in a close game like this. Relievers entered, acquiring as many outs as they could, battling starters and pinch-hitters alike in a race to score first before the last out of the ninth. Baltimore nearly had their rally, but a double play lineout picking off a greedy Gunnar Henderson ended that dream before it could start.

The game stayed in its Cold War state until extra-innings, when a stretched-out Jhoan Duran finally cracked. His ninth was dominant—a pair of strikeouts; a controversial running lane violation—but his 10th was weak, leading to two runs to score off him as the Twins were now suddenly playing from behind again. Félix Bautista experienced no such issues, and he blew away Minnesota to end the game. 

Notes:

The Twins earned two Statcast “Barrels” on Friday; one from Buxton on his robbed homer, and another from Farmer on his opposite-field double off Irvin.

The outing was Ober’s ninth quality start of the season.

Willi Castro’s 19th stolen base moved him into a tie at 7th place amongst AL base stealers, one away from the top five and 24 (!!!) away from the leader, Esteury Ruiz.

Griffin Jax has not allowed an earned run since May 19th. 

Post-Game Interview:

What’s Next?

The Twins and Orioles will play the second game of the series on Saturday with first pitch coming at 1:10 PM; Sonny Gray will pitch opposite of former Twins farmhand, Tyler Wells. 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet