Orioles top Twins 3-1 in 10 innings to open series at Target Field

Byron Buxton ran through the gamut of emotions when he watched Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins leap at the center field wall and rob him of a three-run homer in the fourth inning Friday.

Buxton showed his frustration when he slammed his helmet without letting go as he stood next to first base. Next was disbelief as he stood with his hands on his hips, waiting for Mullins to throw the ball toward the infield. Once he made eye contact with Mullins, he tipped his helmet.

"Good player," Buxton said. "Can't do nothing about it."

It was three runs the Twins never earned back in their 3-1 loss in 10 innings to the Orioles at Target Field. The Twins have totaled three runs in their last three games against Baltimore over the past week.

"The two games they've beaten us this year," said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, referencing a loss last Sunday, "their center fielder has made the play of the game both times against Buck swinging the bat. They are game-defining moments."

Mullins' catch was a defining moment for the Twins offense because they didn't do much else. They had only two baserunners in the first six innings against Orioles lefthander Cole Irvin, who entered with a 6.32 ERA in seven starts. Starting with Buxton's long, long fly out, Irvin retired 10 consecutive hitters. The Twins have the lowest OPS (.655) against lefty pitching in the majors.

Kyle Farmer hit a double off the right-field wall to knock Irvin out of the game in the seventh inning. Willi Castro, the next batter, lined an RBI single that dropped in front of a diving right fielder, tying the score at 1-1. It was a chance for the Twins to strike before facing the vaunted back end of the Baltimore bullpen, but Castro was stranded at second base.

Once the Orioles turned to All-Star relievers Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista, the Twins mustered only one more hit, an infield single, over the last three innings.

"We needed to do more," Baldelli said. "We got the pitching and the defensive plays, everything we needed to stay right there in another low-scoring game. Not an easy game to lose."

Jhoan Duran, who hadn't pitched since giving up three hits and two runs at Baltimore on Sunday, returned to the mound in the 10th inning after pitching a scoreless ninth. His first pitch of the extra frame gave up the go-ahead run, an RBI double to Ramon Urías. Another run scored after a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly.

"Who else do you want on the mound after he threw [13] pitches the inning before?" Baldelli said. "That's the guy we're going to turn to if he's rested and if it all makes sense. It just didn't play out in our favor."

As much as Irvin shut down the Twins, Bailey Ober matched him. Ober labored through some deep counts in his six-inning outing, but he gave up only one run vs. an Orioles lineup that scored 34 runs in its previous four games.

"I didn't have the same stuff that I had last week, but I was able to make it work," said Ober, who tossed seven scoreless innings against the Orioles last Saturday in one of his finest outings of the season. He threw 67 pitches in the first four innings Friday, but his changeup helped him in a start where his velocity was a tick down.

The Orioles finally scored in their 13th inning against Ober, including the seven innings from his last start, when Mullins — who else? — drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.