Minneapolis, MN – The Minnesota Twins offense errupted for seven runs in the first inning and coasted to a 19-7 thumping of the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a four-game series at Target Field.
Denard Span did the most damage with the bat, going 3-for-5 with five RBI, while Ben Revere had four hits and three RBI with a run scored. Joe Mauer smoked a solo home run to account for one of his two RBI and Ryan Doumit brought home a pair for the Twins, who snapped a five-game slide. Justin Morneau added four hits and an RBI in the victory.
"We definitely needed a win like that," Span said. "We didn't play too well against Oakland and I think we were due for a huge win like that. It was just an all-around good game for us. We were definitely due for that."
Scott Diamond (8-3) allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk with three strikeouts over six innings to earn the win. Anthony Swarzak and Matt Capps closed out the blow-out win for the Twins.
Chris Tillman (1-1) was rocked for seven runs -- one earned -- on five hits and two walks in just two-thirds of an inning to take the loss.
Mark Reynolds smoked a three-run home run and Endy Chavez added a two-run shot for the O's, who have dropped five of their last six games.
The Twins exploded out of the gate, putting up seven runs in their first at- bat to take control of the game early.
Revere started the inning with a double and came around to score on a single by Mauer. Morneau doubled two batters later and Trevor Plouffe walked to load the bases with two outs. Doumit slapped one down the first base line that skipped under the glove of Reynolds, allowing Mauer and Morneau to score. Brian Dozier followed with a run-scoring single to make it 4-0, and Span capped the big inning with a bases-clearing double into the right-center field gap, giving the Twins the huge cushion.
"He struggled tonight. He's done that before," O's manager Buck Showalter said. "It's a lot more than just a mechanical thing, but his arm strength was good. If we make a couple plays behind him, it probably doesn't turn out like that."
Wilson Betemit got the O's on the board in the second with a run-scoring single, but Minnesota got the run right back in the home half on a long solo shot into the right field seats by Mauer, extending the lead to 8-1.
Adam Jones laced a one-out double into the left-center gap in the third and came around to score on a sharp single to shortstop by Reynolds, cutting the deficit to six, but, again, the Twins got it back in the home portion of the inning.
Dozier and Doumit quickly made the first two outs of the frame before Jamey Carroll drew a walk. Span followed with a free pass and both runners advanced on a balk before Revere brought everyone home with a base hit to make it 10-2.
Josh Willingham drew a one-out walk in the fourth and came around to score later in the inning on a fielder's choice by Plouffe to extend the lead to 11-2.
Nick Markakis started the O's fifth with a single and Jones added a base hit two batters later before Reynolds got a hold of a high fastball from Diamond and drilled it into the left field seats for a three-run shot, cutting the deficit to 11-5.
In the sixth, Morneau doubled home Josh Willingham and scored via a Doumit sacrifice fly. Carroll capped the frame with a run-scoring base hit back through the box to make it a 14-5 game.
The Twins plated five more runs in the eighth. Doumit picked up his second RBI of the game with a groundout and Carroll brought home Plouffe with a base hit before Span smoked a double down the line in right to score a pair. Revere capped the inning with a single to score Span, making it a 19-5 game.
Chavez ripped a fastball from Matt Capps over the wall in center field to account for the final score.
Game Notes
The O's fell to 13-10 against left-handed starters this season...The Orioles announced on Monday that second baseman Robert Andino suffered a left shoulder strain and will miss the next 3-4 weeks of action...19 runs was the Twins highest offensive output in one game since they put up 19 runs against the Kansas City Royals on July 26, 2010...The Twins went 9-for-15 with runners in scoring position and stranded five, while the Orioles finished 5-for-14 with men in scoring position and left six on base...Plouffe (2-for-4) extended his career-best hitting streak to 14 games.
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