MINNEAPOLIS -- The Baltimore Orioles have tumbled through the last two months, with their starting pitchers the biggest part of the problem.
Wade Miley was the solution on Saturday.
Jonathan Schoop and Mark Trumbo each homered in support of Miley's best performance in more than five weeks, and the Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins 5-1 to stop a five-game losing streak.
"If we're looking in the standings right now, we're wrong. We just go play day by day and play the game the right way," Miley said. "That was a pretty clean baseball game. It's one of the first ones in a while."
Manny Machado added an RBI double to help the Orioles beat the Twins for the first time in six meetings this season. This was just their third win in 11 games, and they're 19-36 since May 10 to fall from first place in the American League East to being tied for last.
Miley (4-7) had his own struggles to deal with. He failed to finish three innings in three of his last six starts, an awful stretch that saw his ERA balloon from 2.82 to 5.20. Against the Twins, he gave up eight hits and three walks, but only one run before leaving with two outs in the sixth.
"It's a good way to end it," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "That's why these guys are what they are. They don't run away from their struggles. They want to get back and make the contributions that they're asked to make."
After Miguel Sano's 21st home run, Schoop trumped his All-Star teammate with a towering two-run shot in the fourth inning off Adalberto Mejia (4-4). The ball landed in the third deck above left field, estimated by Major League Baseball's Statcast system at 462 feet.
"Everything worked today," Schoop said. "We're looking for it to work tomorrow."
Mejia was removed with two outs in the seventh, after allowing five hits, three walks and four runs. He had won each of his previous three starts, but the Twins stranded 10 runners on base over the first six innings and didn't come close to the stirring comeback they produced on Friday from a 6-0 deficit for a 9-6 victory.
SLUGGING SANO
Sano stretched his hitting streak to a season-long and career-high-tying 10 straight games. He's batting .342 with three homers and nine RBI on the run. His before-the-break total is the most by a Twins player since Justin Morneau had 21 homers in 2009.
"I need to hit more than that," Sano said, "and next year hit more than that."
COLON COMING?
After signing 44-year-old right-hander Bartolo Colon to a minor-league contract for at least one turn with Triple-A Rochester, the Twins could bring him up to start as soon as July 18 against the New York Yankees. Jose Berrios, Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson and Mejia have been ordered for after the All-Star break, but there's a fifth spot in the rotation that'll need to be filled.
GOOD START
Twins outfielder Zack Granite, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester, arrived in Minnesota after midnight but still beat manager Paul Molitor to work on his first day of major league duty. Granite debuted in the eighth inning with an 11-pitch at-bat that ended with a pop up and a rousing ovation from the crowd of 26,323.
"That's definitely the loudest I've ever heard a stadium for an out," Granite said, "so that was kind of cool."
SCHOOP AT SHORT
The Orioles designated SS Paul Janish for assignment to make room for RHP Chris Tillman, who returned from paternity leave to join the bullpen for now. With manager Buck Showalter wanting to give Johnny Giavotella some work at 2B, Schoop got his first career start at SS.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: Miley was tripped by a spinning barrel off the broken bat of Kennys Vargas during an inning-ending groundout in the fifth, sending him to the ground, but he returned for the sixth after walking off gingerly.
Twins: Molitor said he's "fairly confident" that 1B Joe Mauer (strained lower back) will be ready to play as soon as he's eligible to come off the DL on Friday for the first game after the break.
UP NEXT
Orioles: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (3-4, 6.64 ERA) pitches on Sunday. His ERA has never been lower than 5.44 over his last 40 appearances since May 12, 2016.
Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson (5-6, 5.82 ERA) takes the mound to wrap up the series. Since being recalled May 22 from Triple-A, he's 5-2 with a 4.59 ERA in nine starts.
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More AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Wade Miley was the solution on Saturday.
Jonathan Schoop and Mark Trumbo each homered in support of Miley's best performance in more than five weeks, and the Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins 5-1 to stop a five-game losing streak.
"If we're looking in the standings right now, we're wrong. We just go play day by day and play the game the right way," Miley said. "That was a pretty clean baseball game. It's one of the first ones in a while."
Manny Machado added an RBI double to help the Orioles beat the Twins for the first time in six meetings this season. This was just their third win in 11 games, and they're 19-36 since May 10 to fall from first place in the American League East to being tied for last.
Miley (4-7) had his own struggles to deal with. He failed to finish three innings in three of his last six starts, an awful stretch that saw his ERA balloon from 2.82 to 5.20. Against the Twins, he gave up eight hits and three walks, but only one run before leaving with two outs in the sixth.
"It's a good way to end it," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "That's why these guys are what they are. They don't run away from their struggles. They want to get back and make the contributions that they're asked to make."
After Miguel Sano's 21st home run, Schoop trumped his All-Star teammate with a towering two-run shot in the fourth inning off Adalberto Mejia (4-4). The ball landed in the third deck above left field, estimated by Major League Baseball's Statcast system at 462 feet.
"Everything worked today," Schoop said. "We're looking for it to work tomorrow."
Mejia was removed with two outs in the seventh, after allowing five hits, three walks and four runs. He had won each of his previous three starts, but the Twins stranded 10 runners on base over the first six innings and didn't come close to the stirring comeback they produced on Friday from a 6-0 deficit for a 9-6 victory.
SLUGGING SANO
Sano stretched his hitting streak to a season-long and career-high-tying 10 straight games. He's batting .342 with three homers and nine RBI on the run. His before-the-break total is the most by a Twins player since Justin Morneau had 21 homers in 2009.
"I need to hit more than that," Sano said, "and next year hit more than that."
COLON COMING?
After signing 44-year-old right-hander Bartolo Colon to a minor-league contract for at least one turn with Triple-A Rochester, the Twins could bring him up to start as soon as July 18 against the New York Yankees. Jose Berrios, Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson and Mejia have been ordered for after the All-Star break, but there's a fifth spot in the rotation that'll need to be filled.
GOOD START
Twins outfielder Zack Granite, who was recalled from Triple-A Rochester, arrived in Minnesota after midnight but still beat manager Paul Molitor to work on his first day of major league duty. Granite debuted in the eighth inning with an 11-pitch at-bat that ended with a pop up and a rousing ovation from the crowd of 26,323.
"That's definitely the loudest I've ever heard a stadium for an out," Granite said, "so that was kind of cool."
SCHOOP AT SHORT
The Orioles designated SS Paul Janish for assignment to make room for RHP Chris Tillman, who returned from paternity leave to join the bullpen for now. With manager Buck Showalter wanting to give Johnny Giavotella some work at 2B, Schoop got his first career start at SS.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: Miley was tripped by a spinning barrel off the broken bat of Kennys Vargas during an inning-ending groundout in the fifth, sending him to the ground, but he returned for the sixth after walking off gingerly.
Twins: Molitor said he's "fairly confident" that 1B Joe Mauer (strained lower back) will be ready to play as soon as he's eligible to come off the DL on Friday for the first game after the break.
UP NEXT
Orioles: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (3-4, 6.64 ERA) pitches on Sunday. His ERA has never been lower than 5.44 over his last 40 appearances since May 12, 2016.
Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson (5-6, 5.82 ERA) takes the mound to wrap up the series. Since being recalled May 22 from Triple-A, he's 5-2 with a 4.59 ERA in nine starts.
---
More AP baseball coverage: 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Adalberto Mejia pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Rickard reached on bunt single to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Machado struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Schoop grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Rickard out at second. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Wade Miley pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Dozier flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Escobar flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Sanó singled to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Grossman singled to center, Sanó to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Vargas struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Adalberto Mejia pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Jones struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Trumbo struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Mancini flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Wade Miley pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Rosario grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Adrianza singled to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Buxton grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, Adrianza out at second. | 0 | 0 |
| Castro bunt grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Adalberto Mejia pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Castillo flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Giavotella flied out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Wade Miley pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Dozier struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Escobar struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Sanó homered to left (379 feet). | 0 | 1 |
| Grossman singled to center. | 0 | 1 |
| Vargas singled to left center, Grossman to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Rosario grounded out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Adalberto Mejia pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Rickard lined out to center. | 0 | 1 |
| Machado singled to left. | 0 | 1 |
| Schoop homered to left (462 feet), Machado scored. | 2 | 1 |
| Jones walked. | 2 | 1 |
| Trumbo lined out to shortstop. | 2 | 1 |
| Mancini grounded out to second. | 2 | 1 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Wade Miley pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Adrianza struck out looking. | 2 | 1 |
| Buxton walked. | 2 | 1 |
| Castro grounded into double play, shortstop to third to first, Buxton out at second. | 2 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Adalberto Mejia pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Castillo grounded out to third. | 2 | 1 |
| Giavotella struck out swinging. | 2 | 1 |
| Gentry lined out to right. | 2 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Wade Miley pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Dozier grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 1 |
| Escobar grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 1 |
| Sanó walked. | 2 | 1 |
| Grossman walked, Sanó to second. | 2 | 1 |
| Vargas grounded out to shortstop. | 2 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Adalberto Mejia pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Rickard doubled to deep left. | 2 | 1 |
| Machado doubled to left, Rickard scored. | 3 | 1 |
| Schoop grounded out to first, Machado to third. | 3 | 1 |
| Jones intentionally walked. | 3 | 1 |
| Trumbo grounded into fielder's choice to third, Machado scored, Jones safe at second on error by third baseman Escobar. | 4 | 1 |
| Mancini grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Trumbo out at second, Jones to third. | 4 | 1 |
| Castillo struck out swinging. | 4 | 1 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Wade Miley pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Rosario grounded out to first. | 4 | 1 |
| Adrianza grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 1 |
| Buxton reached on infield single to shortstop. | 4 | 1 |
| Castro singled to left, Buxton to third. | 4 | 1 |
| O'Day relieved Miley. | 4 | 1 |
| Dozier hit by pitch, Castro to second. | 4 | 1 |
| Escobar struck out swinging. | 4 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Adalberto Mejia pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Giavotella grounded out to third. | 4 | 1 |
| Gentry walked. | 4 | 1 |
| Gentry safe at third on throwing error by pitcher Mejía. | 4 | 1 |
| Rickard struck out swinging. | 4 | 1 |
| Belisle relieved Mejía. | 4 | 1 |
| Machado walked. | 4 | 1 |
| Schoop flied out to right. | 4 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Mychal Givens pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Givens relieved O'Day. | 4 | 1 |
| Sanó struck out swinging. | 4 | 1 |
| Grossman struck out swinging. | 4 | 1 |
| Vargas grounded out to first. | 4 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Buddy Boshers pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Boshers relieved Belisle. | 4 | 1 |
| Jones grounded out to second. | 4 | 1 |
| Trumbo homered to left (393 feet). | 5 | 1 |
| Mancini singled to center. | 5 | 1 |
| Castillo struck out looking. | 5 | 1 |
| Giavotella flied out to center. | 5 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Mychal Givens pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Schoop at second base. | 5 | 1 |
| Tejada at shortstop. | 5 | 1 |
| Rosario singled to deep right. | 5 | 1 |
| Granite hit for Adrianza. | 5 | 1 |
| Granite flied out to left. | 5 | 1 |
| Buxton struck out swinging. | 5 | 1 |
| Castro grounded out to second. | 5 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Phil Hughes pitching for Minnesota | BAL | MIN |
| Polanco at shortstop. | 5 | 1 |
| Hughes relieved Boshers. | 5 | 1 |
| Gentry grounded out to second. | 5 | 1 |
| Rickard struck out swinging. | 5 | 1 |
| Machado flied out to right. | 5 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Minnesota - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Brad Brach pitching for Baltimore | BAL | MIN |
| Brach relieved Givens. | 5 | 1 |
| Dozier struck out looking. | 5 | 1 |
| Escobar struck out swinging. | 5 | 1 |
| Sanó struck out swinging. | 5 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Baltimore Orioles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Rickard LF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | .262 | .293 | .389 |
| Machado 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | .228 | .294 | .446 |
| Schoop SS-2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | .296 | .349 | .541 |
| Jones CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | .264 | .303 | .417 |
| Trumbo DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 16 | .255 | .317 | .425 |
| Mancini 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .314 | .356 | .545 |
| Castillo C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | .258 | .298 | .412 |
| Giavotella 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | .167 | .167 | .167 |
Tejada SS
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .196 | .262 | .232 |
| Gentry RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | .175 | .273 | .263 |
| Totals | 34 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 134 | |||
| BATTING 2B: Rickard (10, Mejía); Machado (17, Mejía) HR: Schoop (18, 4th inning off Mejía 1 on, 1 Out); Trumbo (14, 8th inning off Boshers 0 on, 1 Out) RBI: Schoop 2 (54), Machado (46), Trumbo 2 (44) GIDP: Schoop Orioles RISP: 1-7 (Machado 1-1, Rickard 0-1, Schoop 0-2, Mancini 0-1, Castillo 0-1, Trumbo 0-1) Team LOB: 6 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING DP: 1 (Schoop-Machado-Mancini). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Target Field, Minneapolis, MN |
| Attendance | 26,323 (67.4% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:04 |
| Weather | 78 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 10 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Sean Barber, First Base - Lance Barrett, Second Base - Bill Welke, Third Base - Jim Reynolds |
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