*Photo from the Star Tribune*
MLB journeyman Rob Refsnyder got an opportunity with the Minnesota Twins when some injuries hit their outfield. He made the most of that opportunity against the Baltimore Orioles. Refsnyder homered, Jorge Polanco homered, and the Twins defeated the Baltimore Orioles with a 7-4 win on Tuesday night.
Refsnyder has found success from changed mechanics, saying "I'm trying to get a little bit of a running start, try to have a toe tap where my hands come down with it, so it's an equal and opposite. As I go forward, my hands start to come back up. I was like, 'This is a no-brainer. I just need to keep going with this."
Polanco got the Twins on the board in the second inning with a solo homer to right field. Refsnyder then hit an RBI double, and came around to score on a wild pitch, and it was a 4-2 lead for the Twins. In the 4th, Refsnyder scored on a sac fly to make it a 5-3 lead. In the 6th, Alex Kirilloff hit an RBI double, and Refsnyder hit a solo homer in the 8th to make it 7-4.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Refsnyder's opportunity that "I think the opportunity, a lot of the time, is the most important part. And just having the ability to go out there and get the at-bats at the big league level and being trusted in certain spots and allowing yourself to kind of shine through in that sense."
Jose Berrios got the win for the Twins, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and two walks, recording 7 strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings for Minnesota. Caleb Thielbar, Alex Colome, and Hansel Robles also worked in relief of Berrios, and Taylor Rogers got his 3rd save of the season in the 9th, sealing the win.
For the Orioles, Cedric Mullins hit a two run single in the second inning, which gave the O's a 2-0 lead, before the Twins took the lead in the bottom of the second. In the 4th, Pedro Severino hit an RBI double to make it a 4-3 game at the time. After the Twins got a few more runs, DJ Stewart hit a solo homer to center field in the 8th inning, making it a 6-4 game, in favor of the Twins.
Dean Kremer got shelled in his start for Baltimore, getting charged with 5 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5 hitters in 4 innings pitched. Along with the rest of the rotation, Kremer has hit some hard times in May, going 0-3 with a 5.87 ERA, and he has a 7.97 ERA on a 0-6 record in his last 10 starts, dating back to 2020.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said of Kremer that "I think he’s frustrated. You see frustration out on the mound. This is all a learning experience for these guys, Kremer, Akin, Mountcastle. For all these guys that don’t have much time up here, these are learning moments, teaching moments. That’s why they are here right now."
The Orioles and Twins wrap up their series this afternoon, with Jorge Lopez starting for Baltimore, and Michael Pineda getting the start for Minnesota.
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