Miguel Sano blasts 21st home run but Twins miss other chances in 5-1 loss to Orioles

The Twins had their chances Saturday, but they could not pull off back-to-back rallies.

They failed to generate any momentum against Orioles lefthander Wade Miley or the Baltimore bullpen in a 5-1 loss at Target Field. After coming back from six runs down to win 9-6 Friday night, the Twins were out of answers Saturday.

The Orioles, behind two hits from Manny Machado and a long home run by Jonathan Schoop, beat the Twins for the first time in six meetings this season.

"We left a lot of people on base," Twins manager Paul Molitor said, "which can hurt you."

The Twins were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners. Miley, torched for seven runs in 1⅔ innings Monday in Milwaukee, tied a season high Saturday by giving up eight hits. One was Miguel Sano's 21st home run. The rest failed to hurt him.

Consequently, Twins fans had little to cheer for. The loudest ovation of the day came on an out: In his major league debut, pinch hitter Zack Granite grinded through an 11-pitch at-bat in the eighth inning before flying out to left, and fans stood and applauded as he returned to the dugout.

The Twins stranded two in the first, left the bases loaded in the sixth and wasted a leadoff double in the eighth. They floundered with men on base against Miley (4-7), who entered the game 1-3 with a 11.69 ERA over his previous six starts.

"I think he had us in between a lot," Molitor said. "His command was fairly good. He had us guessing a little bit on the first pitch. Dropped a first-pitch curveball in there, and maybe a couple guys started looking for it and he came back with the fastball."

Starter Adalberto Mejia was still on the mound for the Twins in the seventh inning, which normally is a good thing. His pitch count was manageable because he either got Baltimore to hit the ball within range of his defense or he was able to finish off hitters for strikeouts.

Sano put the Twins ahead 1-0 in the third. His 21st home run was the most by a Twin before the All-Star break since 2009, when Justin Morneau also hit 21.

Mejia (4-4) faced the minimum nine batters over the first three innings, but the rookie lefthander gave up a one-out single to Manny Machado before laying a changeup over the middle of the plate to Schoop. The ball exploded off Schoop's bat and landed in the third deck in left field, an estimated 455 feet away.

"That changeup was supposed to be away," said Mejia, who screamed at himself as Schoop began his trot around the bases.

Mejia settled down until the sixth, when he gave up back-to-back doubles to Joey Rickard and Machado that produced a run. Machado eventually scored on a fielder's choice as Baltimore took a 4-1 lead. Mark Trumbo homered off Buddy Boshers in the eighth.

The Twins still can win the four-game series if they beat Orioles righthander Ubaldo Jimenez on Sunday. They already have assured themselves of a winning homestand, their first since they swept Kansas City in three games to open the season. But a victory Sunday would give them a 5-2 home-stand, something to feel good about entering the break.

"We did not hit today," Sano said. "Hopefully everybody comes back [Sunday] with our heads in the game and thinking about winning."