Twins 4, Orioles 0: 11 in a Row!

The Minnesota Twins have now swept the Baltimore Orioles twice in two weeks

The fun continues, and my house is completely spotless from all the sweeping we’ve been doing lately. The Minnesota Twins take three more games from the American League East’s Baltimore Orioles. The Twins held the O’s scoreless in Thursday’s matchup, and that’s good enough for 11 straight wins.

Before we get to more on this fantastic stretch of ball…

A concerning moment for all, Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa collide while tracking down a Cedric Mullins pop fly. Buck did catch the ball. Both are currently in Major League Baseball’s concussion protocol.

MLB concussion protocol entails:

The MLB concussion protocol ensures player safety by mandating baseline testing, standardized evaluation using SCAT5 tool, and a 7-day disabled list for concussed players. Players must return to baseline cognitive function before returning to play, and a prohibited same-day return to play. The protocol also includes a return-to-play form and a designated MTBI specialist.

Hopefully both will recover quickly.

Now, back to the game today. Chris Paddack pitched seven strong, giving up only 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB and 3 K. His overall ERA is down to 4.05 after inflating his ERA in his first start this season, giving up nine runs. Times have changed though, since that start he has only given up 12 runs in 43 ¹⁄₃ innings. In his last two starts alone he has given up one run in 14 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched. The Sheriff has been showing up in his recent starts.

As for at the plate, Dashawn Keirsey Jr. started off the scoring in the top of the third with a 374 ft. blast to right field, Lewis was on base. Twins up 2-0. Next batter, another dinger. Buxton hit a first-pitch home run to center, 3-0 ballgame. Finally in the 7th Royce Lewis singled to left scoring Castro. Out of the pen, Louis Varland got the eighth inning, and Duran came in for the ninth.

Let’s take a quick look at the home run stats, mainly leaders, from the Twins:

Buck Truck – 10

Trev – 7

Bader – 4

Brooks Lee – 4

Ty France – 3

Because he hit one today, Keirsey Jr. – 1

Batting, Harrison Bader leads the charge with a .300 BA, Buxton is batting .261 and Ty France is at .252.

Here’s a look at the standings:

One thing I was very confused about from this afternoon, the attendance at today’s game. Perhaps they mentioned it in the broadcast? But, yesterday’s doubleheader looked very sparse. Thursday’s game attendance in Baltimore was 30,926. Quite impressive. If anyone knows why the major jump in fans at the game, please let me know.

As for the Twins, it’s off to Milwaukee to start a weekend series. The Brewers are 21-23 and sit in third place in the NL East.

As always, Go Twins!