They say to keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, which is why for most of my adult life I’ve hung out with people who I don’t really like. Tonight, starter Dean Kremer proved why that maxim is not just a magazine, spinning a gem against his former club in a shiny 7-inning, one-hit start.
It was something I’m calling “no cookies” tonight from Kremer, who drove a perfect first trip through the Orioles’ lineup, then only allowed a fourth-inning hit — the lone base knock against his ledger today — on a squib shot that went maybe ten feet in front of home. That hit would put runners on the corners (a Gunnar Henderson walk had made its way into scoring position already), which would allow Baltimore to tie the game on a designed delayed double-steal.
The fact that this tied the game came courtesy of Austin Martin, who took offense to my subtle jab at him in the pregame, and chose to put up eight total bases across four hits tonight. He’d gotten Minnesota on the board with a third-inning line-drive homer, after already having roped a double to lead off the game.
The Twins would add another in the home fourth, reclaiming the lead from Baltimore almost immediately; Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch to set the table, and Brooks Lee doubled him over to third; this allowed Kaelen Culpepper to earn an RBI on a sacrifice fly, the only distraction from the golden sombrero he would later be wearing.
After Kremer completed 7 full innings, the Twins exploded for five in the 7th and two more in the 8th. The barrage included a two-run single from Ryan Jeffers and a three-run shot off the bat of Josh Bell (16.) (Homers, he’s older than that.) Jeffers would add another on an RBI double in the eighth, and would score on a Royce Lewis single.
The insurance proved necessary, as a combination of Travis Adams and Taylor Rogers allowed six hits and four earned runs in the final two innings. Nevertheless, she (the Minnesota Twins) persisted, and claimed the series opener on a nice evening at Target Field.
STUDS:
SP Dean Kremer (7 IP, H, R, ER, 1 BB, 7 K)
LF Austin Martin (4-for-5, 3 R, RBI, 2B, HR)
C Ryan Jeffers (2-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B)
DH Josh Bell (2-for-5, R, 3 RBI, HR)
3B Brooks Lee (2-for-4, 2B, BB)
DUDS:
NO DUDS! TWINS WIN! TWINS WIN!
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