Orioles 2, Twins 1: Too many LOBs leads to sobs

A few positives came from 2026 Opening Day for the Minnesota Twins: the starter was sharp, they showed some aggressiveness on the base paths, and Byron Buxton collected a big hit. But the Twins simply were not able to successfully sequence enough safeties off Baltimore Orioles hurlers to plate more than one run in a leadoff loss.

In the early portion of any Game 1-of-162, a lot of firsts need to get put out of the way. After 1-2-3 opening frames from both sides, those firsts started to fall in the second inning.

The first Twins hit of the 2026 season came from the bat of Ryan Jeffers. Immediately following that, Matt Wallner successfully turned a strike into a ball via the Twins’ first official ABS Challenge and it paid off in a walk. Alas, ultimately the rally would end on a three-pitch punch-out from ninth batter Brooks Lee.

MN bats were right back on the attack in T3 with Austin Martin singling and swiping second on the next pitch. But despite Luke Keaschall legging out an infield hit to put two on with one out, Baltimore 3B Coby Mayo made a nice stop and started an around-the-horn double play to quash the “first run” hopes again.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Twins again clogged the dirt in T4 via two leadoff walks (Wallner & Josh Bell). Almost immediately: another double play initiated from Coby “Next Time Please Hold The” Mayo. A Royce Lewis fly-out slapped another goose egg on the line score.

On the pitching side of the equation, Twins SP Joe Ryan was sterling through four innings. The O’s pushed a runner to 3B with two outs in the 5th, but a nice catch at the wall from The Moose (Wallner) kept Joe’s ledger clean for another frame.

In T6, the Twins were gifted a golden opportunity when a Tyler O’Neill BAL error allowed Keaschall to scamper into second base with zero out. He never moved from that solitary station.

After recording the first out of B6, Ryan (5.1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 7 K, 85 pitches) departed without allowing a run.

Both squads continued not scoring runs as fans took a stretch. But seeing-eye singles from Samuel Basallo (off Kody Funderburk) & O’Neill (off Justin Topa) set the Orioles up for success—which they immediately paid off with a Colton Cowser sac fly for the 1-0 lead. Two batters later, it was 2-0 O’s on a Blaze Alexander RBI single.

Remember those firsts I was referencing earlier? Well, with one out in T8, Buxton provided the first XBH—a triple!—and touched the irregular pentagon with the first R as Keaschall collected the first RBI on a sac fly.

With old-friend-turned-new-friend Taylor Rogers keeping the Orange Birds off the board, the Twins entered T9 just down by a single digit. After whiffs from Wallner & Bell, Victor Caratini dribbled one through the infield to keep hope alive. Hope then died similarly to the ball that BAL closer Ryan Helsley put in the dirt and PH Trevor Larnach swung over for the third strike of the third out.

Your Final: Baltimore Orioles 2, Minnesota Twins 1