MINNEAPOLIS -- The Baltimore Orioles ended the first half of the season playing the way they had expected to for all of 2017.
They'll have to do that and more if they want to make up ground in the rugged AL East.
Adam Jones homered twice and drove in five runs to lead a 15-hit attack and the Orioles defeated the Minnesota Twins 11-5 on Sunday.
"Our style is our pitcher attacks the zone, our defense plays well behind him, and we get some longballs," Jones said. "This series we've been able to do a few of those things."
Ruben Tejada and Seth Smith each had three hits for the Orioles, who won their second straight after losing seven of eight.
After reaching the playoffs three times in the past five seasons, Baltimore enters the break 42-46 and scrambling to play catch-up in the AL's most competitive division.
"We finished on a high note. There's a lot of good things that happened," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I try to dwell on that too, but also have a sense of reality about some things that are going to have to get better."
Max Kepler had a double and a triple and Robbie Grossman drove in two runs for the Twins, who had their first winning homestand (4-3) since the first week in April.
Ubaldo Jimenez (4-4) worked five innings for his third win in his past five starts.
Jones put the Orioles on top 3-0 just four batters into the game when he drove a hanging slider into the second deck above the bullpens in left-center.
Kyle Gibson (5-7) had issued a four-pitch walk to Seth Smith to start the game, and All-Star Jonathan Schoop singled with one out to set up Jones' 444-foot shot.
"It was a slider that was up," Jones said. "I'm not going to take that too often."
Jones also homered to lead off Baltimore's four-run fifth. Catcher Caleb Joseph's two-run bloop single off the end of the bat to short right-center was the other big hit in the fifth inning.
"When you get guys on base, you start creating havoc out there, things can happen. Then a flare in the Bermuda Triangle scores two," Joseph said.
"It's little things like that that start compounding and that's what we've been able to do the last four, five years. We're looking to try to get back to that."
ZONING IN
The Twins did all their damage against Jimenez in the second inning, when the Orioles' starter hit a batter and walked three, leading to four runs. But Jimenez didn't think he was missing the zone by much -- or at all, actually.
"We watched the video and all those pitches were in the strike zone," Jimenez said. "I don't know what happened. I have respect for the umpires who are out there because, just like us, they're trying to do the best they can."
Joseph said plate umpire Lance Barrett had a high zone that stayed consistent throughout the game for both teams.
"You have to adjust, and I thought he did a nice job adjusting and put up some zeroes for us," Joseph said.
Jimenez threw 43 pitches before finally getting the third out of the inning, but he wasn't upset about Barrett's zone after the game.
"It's part of the game," he said. "I know he's trying to do his best out there. He just had a tough day."
GLOVE WORK
Twins center fielder Zack Granite made the most of his first major league start. Granite saved at least one run with a leaping grab at the wall to take away a possible extra-base hit from third baseman Manny Machado in the fourth inning.
"I talked to (Byron Buxton) before the game, and he was telling me the ball flies here," said Granite, who was called up from Triple-A Rochester on Saturday. "I had a decent jump at it, kind of timed it pretty good."
The catch came with runners on first and second and one out in the fourth. The lead runner advanced to third base, but Gibson got out of the inning without giving up a run thanks to the rookie's big play.
"I've made some pretty big catches in my life," Granite said. "But on a stage like this, that was cool."
TWINS TAKE
Minnesota reached the All-Star break at 45-43. It's only the second time in the past seven seasons the Twins have been above .500 at the break.
"You look at the positives: the competitiveness, the resiliency, we showed improvement in areas that we hoped to get better in," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
"But you always think there's another level to get to. I think we're going to have to keep finding that and pushing forward.
"The reality is we're a couple games over .500. It's better than where we were last year, but we've got to play better if we want to stick around this thing.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: First baseman Chris Davis, who has been out since June 13 with a strained right oblique, took batting practice before Sunday's game. He's scheduled to begin a brief rehab assignment on Monday at Class A Frederick. Showalter said he expects Davis to be ready to rejoin the team after the All-Star break.
Twins: Molitor said LHP Craig Breslow would spend the All-Star break at home in Boston before reporting to Triple-A Rochester to begin a rehab assignment. Breslow has been on the DL since June 28 due to left thoracic rib soreness. ... Catcher Jason Castro was scratched from the starting lineup on Sunday due to neck cramps.
UP NEXT
Orioles: After the All-Star Game, the Orioles return to action on Friday when they kick off a nine-game homestand with a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. The team has not announced its rotation for the series, but Showalter indicated that he was leaning toward RHP Kevin Gausman (5-7, 5.85 ERA) getting the start on Friday.
Twins: Minnesota opens the second half with a weekend series at Houston. RHP Jose Berrios (8-2, 3.53) is scheduled to start the opener on Friday.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
They'll have to do that and more if they want to make up ground in the rugged AL East.
Adam Jones homered twice and drove in five runs to lead a 15-hit attack and the Orioles defeated the Minnesota Twins 11-5 on Sunday.
"Our style is our pitcher attacks the zone, our defense plays well behind him, and we get some longballs," Jones said. "This series we've been able to do a few of those things."
Ruben Tejada and Seth Smith each had three hits for the Orioles, who won their second straight after losing seven of eight.
After reaching the playoffs three times in the past five seasons, Baltimore enters the break 42-46 and scrambling to play catch-up in the AL's most competitive division.
"We finished on a high note. There's a lot of good things that happened," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I try to dwell on that too, but also have a sense of reality about some things that are going to have to get better."
Max Kepler had a double and a triple and Robbie Grossman drove in two runs for the Twins, who had their first winning homestand (4-3) since the first week in April.
Ubaldo Jimenez (4-4) worked five innings for his third win in his past five starts.
Jones put the Orioles on top 3-0 just four batters into the game when he drove a hanging slider into the second deck above the bullpens in left-center.
Kyle Gibson (5-7) had issued a four-pitch walk to Seth Smith to start the game, and All-Star Jonathan Schoop singled with one out to set up Jones' 444-foot shot.
"It was a slider that was up," Jones said. "I'm not going to take that too often."
Jones also homered to lead off Baltimore's four-run fifth. Catcher Caleb Joseph's two-run bloop single off the end of the bat to short right-center was the other big hit in the fifth inning.
"When you get guys on base, you start creating havoc out there, things can happen. Then a flare in the Bermuda Triangle scores two," Joseph said.
"It's little things like that that start compounding and that's what we've been able to do the last four, five years. We're looking to try to get back to that."
ZONING IN
The Twins did all their damage against Jimenez in the second inning, when the Orioles' starter hit a batter and walked three, leading to four runs. But Jimenez didn't think he was missing the zone by much -- or at all, actually.
"We watched the video and all those pitches were in the strike zone," Jimenez said. "I don't know what happened. I have respect for the umpires who are out there because, just like us, they're trying to do the best they can."
Joseph said plate umpire Lance Barrett had a high zone that stayed consistent throughout the game for both teams.
"You have to adjust, and I thought he did a nice job adjusting and put up some zeroes for us," Joseph said.
Jimenez threw 43 pitches before finally getting the third out of the inning, but he wasn't upset about Barrett's zone after the game.
"It's part of the game," he said. "I know he's trying to do his best out there. He just had a tough day."
GLOVE WORK
Twins center fielder Zack Granite made the most of his first major league start. Granite saved at least one run with a leaping grab at the wall to take away a possible extra-base hit from third baseman Manny Machado in the fourth inning.
"I talked to (Byron Buxton) before the game, and he was telling me the ball flies here," said Granite, who was called up from Triple-A Rochester on Saturday. "I had a decent jump at it, kind of timed it pretty good."
The catch came with runners on first and second and one out in the fourth. The lead runner advanced to third base, but Gibson got out of the inning without giving up a run thanks to the rookie's big play.
"I've made some pretty big catches in my life," Granite said. "But on a stage like this, that was cool."
TWINS TAKE
Minnesota reached the All-Star break at 45-43. It's only the second time in the past seven seasons the Twins have been above .500 at the break.
"You look at the positives: the competitiveness, the resiliency, we showed improvement in areas that we hoped to get better in," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
"But you always think there's another level to get to. I think we're going to have to keep finding that and pushing forward.
"The reality is we're a couple games over .500. It's better than where we were last year, but we've got to play better if we want to stick around this thing.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: First baseman Chris Davis, who has been out since June 13 with a strained right oblique, took batting practice before Sunday's game. He's scheduled to begin a brief rehab assignment on Monday at Class A Frederick. Showalter said he expects Davis to be ready to rejoin the team after the All-Star break.
Twins: Molitor said LHP Craig Breslow would spend the All-Star break at home in Boston before reporting to Triple-A Rochester to begin a rehab assignment. Breslow has been on the DL since June 28 due to left thoracic rib soreness. ... Catcher Jason Castro was scratched from the starting lineup on Sunday due to neck cramps.
UP NEXT
Orioles: After the All-Star Game, the Orioles return to action on Friday when they kick off a nine-game homestand with a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. The team has not announced its rotation for the series, but Showalter indicated that he was leaning toward RHP Kevin Gausman (5-7, 5.85 ERA) getting the start on Friday.
Twins: Minnesota opens the second half with a weekend series at Houston. RHP Jose Berrios (8-2, 3.53) is scheduled to start the opener on Friday.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Baltimore - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Gibson pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Smith walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Machado struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Schoop singled to center, Smith to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Jones homered to center (452 feet), Smith and Schoop scored. | 3 | 0 |
| Trumbo grounded out to second. | 3 | 0 |
| Mancini lined out to center. | 3 | 0 |
| 3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Ubaldo Jimenez pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Dozier struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| Grossman grounded out to catcher. | 3 | 0 |
| Kepler tripled to deep right. | 3 | 0 |
| Sanó flied out to left. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Gibson pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Kim walked. | 3 | 0 |
| Joseph doubled to deep right, Kim scored. | 4 | 0 |
| Tejada sacrificed to pitcher, Joseph to third. | 4 | 0 |
| Smith singled to right, Joseph scored. | 5 | 0 |
| Machado singled to left, Smith to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Schoop lined out to right. | 5 | 0 |
| Jones grounded into fielder's choice to second, Machado out at second. | 5 | 0 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Ubaldo Jimenez pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Vargas hit by pitch. | 5 | 0 |
| Rosario struck out swinging. | 5 | 0 |
| Polanco fouled out to third. | 5 | 0 |
| Gimenez walked, Vargas to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Granite walked, Vargas to third, Gimenez to second. | 5 | 0 |
| Dozier walked, Vargas scored, Gimenez to third, Granite to second. | 5 | 1 |
| Grossman singled to left, Gimenez and Granite scored, Dozier to third. | 5 | 3 |
| Kepler doubled to right, Dozier scored, Grossman to third. | 5 | 4 |
| Sanó grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 4 |
| 4 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Gibson pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Trumbo grounded out to second. | 5 | 4 |
| Mancini grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 4 |
| Kim grounded out to second. | 5 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Ubaldo Jimenez pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Vargas struck out swinging. | 5 | 4 |
| Rosario flied out to center. | 5 | 4 |
| Polanco grounded out to second. | 5 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Gibson pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Joseph grounded out to third. | 5 | 4 |
| Tejada singled to center. | 5 | 4 |
| Smith singled to right, Tejada to second. | 5 | 4 |
| Machado flied out to center, Tejada to third. | 5 | 4 |
| Schoop grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Ubaldo Jimenez pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Gimenez fouled out to first. | 5 | 4 |
| Granite lined out to center. | 5 | 4 |
| Dozier grounded out to shortstop. | 5 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Gibson pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Jones homered to left (419 feet). | 6 | 4 |
| Trumbo singled to left. | 6 | 4 |
| Duffey relieved Gibson. | 6 | 4 |
| Mancini reached on infield single to shortstop, Trumbo to second. | 6 | 4 |
| Trumbo to third, Mancini to second on wild pitch by Duffey. | 6 | 4 |
| Kim grounded out to first. | 6 | 4 |
| Joseph singled to right center, Trumbo and Mancini scored. | 8 | 4 |
| Tejada doubled to left, Joseph scored. | 9 | 4 |
| Smith grounded out to first, Tejada to third. | 9 | 4 |
| Machado flied out to center. | 9 | 4 |
| 4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Ubaldo Jimenez pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Grossman singled to deep right. | 9 | 4 |
| Kepler grounded into fielder's choice to first, Grossman out at second. | 9 | 4 |
| Sanó flied out to center. | 9 | 4 |
| Vargas walked, Kepler to second. | 9 | 4 |
| Kepler to third, Vargas to second on wild pitch by Jiménez. | 9 | 4 |
| Rosario flied out to center. | 9 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Ryan Pressly pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Pressly relieved Duffey. | 9 | 4 |
| Schoop grounded out to shortstop. | 9 | 4 |
| Jones struck out swinging. | 9 | 4 |
| Trumbo struck out looking. | 9 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Richard Bleier pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Bleier relieved Jiménez. | 9 | 4 |
| Polanco grounded out to third. | 9 | 4 |
| Gimenez grounded out to shortstop. | 9 | 4 |
| Granite grounded out to third. | 9 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Ryan Pressly pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Mancini grounded out to third. | 9 | 4 |
| Kim grounded out to third. | 9 | 4 |
| Joseph grounded out to first. | 9 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Richard Bleier pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Rickard in left field. | 9 | 4 |
| Dozier grounded out to third. | 9 | 4 |
| Grossman grounded out to shortstop. | 9 | 4 |
| Kepler grounded out to pitcher. | 9 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Trevor Hildenberger pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Hildenberger relieved Pressly. | 9 | 4 |
| Tejada singled to right. | 9 | 4 |
| Smith singled to center, Tejada to third. | 9 | 4 |
| Gentry ran for Smith. | 9 | 4 |
| Machado singled to left, Tejada scored, Gentry to second. | 10 | 4 |
| Schoop grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Machado out at second, Gentry to third. | 10 | 4 |
| Jones hit sacrifice fly to right, Gentry scored. | 11 | 4 |
| Trumbo popped out to catcher. | 11 | 4 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Richard Bleier pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Gentry in right field. | 11 | 4 |
| Sanó safe at first on error by shortstop Tejada. | 11 | 4 |
| Vargas doubled to second, Sanó to third. | 11 | 4 |
| Rosario lined out to right. | 11 | 4 |
| Polanco grounded out to shortstop, Sanó scored. | 11 | 5 |
| Castro relieved Bleier. | 11 | 5 |
| Gimenez struck out looking. | 11 | 5 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Phil Hughes pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Hughes relieved Hildenberger. | 11 | 5 |
| Mancini struck out swinging. | 11 | 5 |
| Rickard flied out to left. | 11 | 5 |
| Joseph struck out swinging. | 11 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Zach Britton pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Britton relieved Castro. | 11 | 5 |
| Granite grounded out to first. | 11 | 5 |
| Escobar hit for Dozier. | 11 | 5 |
| Escobar grounded out to third. | 11 | 5 |
| Grossman struck out swinging. | 11 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore Orioles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Smith RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | .259 | .329 | .440 |
Gentry PR-RF
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .175 | .273 | .263 |
| Machado 3B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | .230 | .296 | .445 |
| Schoop 2B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | .295 | .347 | .536 |
| Jones CF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .267 | .305 | .436 |
| Trumbo DH | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | .254 | .316 | .422 |
| Mancini 1B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | .312 | .354 | .538 |
| Kim LF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | .229 | .301 | .280 |
Rickard LF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .260 | .291 | .387 |
| Joseph C | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 25 | .286 | .314 | .429 |
| Tejada SS | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .237 | .297 | .288 |
| Totals | 40 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 165 | |||
| BATTING 2B: Joseph (10, Gibson); Tejada (3, Duffey) HR: Jones 2 (15, 1st inning off Gibson 2 on, 1 Out; 5th inning off Gibson 0 on, 0 Out) RBI: Jones 5 (40), Joseph 3 (17), Smith (20), Tejada (2), Machado (47) S: Tejada SF: Jones Orioles RISP: 4-12 (Machado 1-3, Kim 0-1, Schoop 0-3, Smith 1-2, Joseph 1-1, Jones 1-2) Team LOB: 6 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Tejada (2, ground ball) | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Target Field, Minneapolis, MN |
| Attendance | 25,848 (66.2% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:11 |
| Weather | 75 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 8 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Lance Barrett, First Base - Bill Welke, Second Base - Jim Reynolds, Third Base - Sean Barber |
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