Twins start fresh, rout Orioles 8-1 to end three-game losing streak

Who said the Twins are in trouble? By their own reckoning, they're undefeated.

The 2023 season started anew on Friday, the Twins decided after an embarrassing sweep in Atlanta, and Second Opening Day was a smashing, walloping, clobbering success. The Twins hit three home runs, scored in each of their first four innings, and retook sole possession of first place by seizing an 8-1 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards.

Heck, Pablo López even improved to 2-0 in 2023 openers by reprising his first-game victory from the Twins' other debut in March.

"Let the Season Begin," proclaimed the all-caps message that greeted the Twins as they filed in to their clubhouse in Baltimore for the series opener, a turn-the-page affectation that the slump-ridden team has adopted in hopes of somehow reigniting a batting order that has ranked among the American League's least productive.

"We can't change the games we've already played," catcher Ryan Jeffers explained to reporters in Baltimore before the game. "But we can play better from here on out. Starting now."

Only 79 games remain in the season, not 161, but the day — er, brand-new season — began with a positive sign: The Guardians lost at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon, dropping them behind the Twins in the AL Central standings.

The best news, though, or at least the biggest relief for the Twins came once Orioles righthander Dean Kremer, an eight-game winner, took the mound after a 1 hour, 26 minute rain delay. The Twins eventually chased Kremer from the game after throwing 89 pitches and retiring only nine batters.

"The response everyone's looking for is what we got," manager Rocco Baldelli told the Associated Press. "I think we tapped into something. We've had some good offensive games along the way, but we haven't tapped into that — what we just saw out there, the true quality and nature of the at-bats that we had."

"We got some things situated" with a team meeting in Atlanta, said Byron Buxton, who enjoyed his first two-hit, three-RBI game since April 30. "It was very fun. [There was] a lot of energy going through the dugout to get out here and get things going. Starting out the way we did was pretty encouraging."

Perhaps ironically, it all started with Carlos Correa — who entered the game just 5-for-39 (.128) when leading off an inning — assuming a new role at the top of the Twins' lineup. Correa, though, turned that history around right from the start, lining a single to open the game.

"You lead off in the first inning, and after that, it depends on how the game goes," Correa pointed out. "Whatever is best for the team, I'm willing to do it."

Kremer still struck out the side in the inning, but not before surrendering two-out singles to Alex Kirilloff and Royce Lewis, the latter one driving in Correa to end the Twins' 14-inning scoreless streak.

Then came the power show: Joey Gallo lined a two-strike, two-out fastball into the seats in right field in the second inning, his 14th blast of the season and third on this road trip. Max Kepler — who ended the first inning by taking a called strike three on a pitch that appeared to be well outside — raised his batting average above .200 by contributing a two-run shot in the third inning, a 427-foot rocket to right-center that's the second-longest homer he's hit in the past three years.

And Buxton brought three more runs home against lefthanded reliever Bruce Zimmermann with a high fly ball that sailed just inside the foul pole in left field.

The eight runs represented the Twins' biggest outburst since they scored nine runs in Toronto on June 10, and the 8-0 lead was their biggest since an identical margin May 31 in Houston. It was more than enough for López (4-5), who allowed a solo home run to Adley Rutschman in the sixth inning but was otherwise spotless in earning his first victory since May 27.