DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Byron Buxton hit back-to-back home runs and Chris Paddack pitched seven shutout innings, but the Minnesota Twins’ 11th consecutive victory was soured by a collision among teammates when they beat the host Baltimore Orioles 4-0 on Thursday afternoon.
Twins shortstop Carlos Correa and Buxton, the center fielder, left the game following a pile-up in the bottom of the third inning.
The duo was pursuing Cedric Mullins’ pop-up in shallow center field when Buxton made the catch before colliding with Correa. It appeared that their heads bumped, and both players fell to the turf with other Twins on the field immediately motioning for trainers. Minnesota led 3-0 at the time of the lineup changes.
The Twins completed a three-game sweep and a six-game season sweep after winning three times against the Orioles last week at home.
Paddack (2-3) was splendid in allowing three hits and one walk while striking out three. Louis Varland and Jhoan Duran each worked an inning of relief to complete the six-hitter.
Willi Castro and Royce Lewis both had two hits for Minnesota.
The Orioles have lost nine of their last 11 games. They scored in just two separate innings in the series.
Ryan O’Hearn had two of Baltimore’s hits, while Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle each had a double. The Orioles stranded six runners, with two of those in the eighth and two more in the ninth.
Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano (4-3) went 6 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
Keirsey’s two-run shot marked his first long ball of the season and it opened the scoring in the third inning. Buxton followed with his 10th homer.
A run-scoring single from Lewis made it 4-0 in the seventh. Minnesota squandered a ninth-inning scoring chance after its first two batters reached base, but Baltimore’s Serathony Dominguez escaped by striking out the next three batters.
–Field Level Media
