Orioles’ Bats Silenced by Correia in 6-1 Loss
By Nate Wardle
May 3, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins first baseman
Joe Mauer(7) beats the tag of Baltimore Orioles catcher
Steve Clevenger(45) to score from first in the 1st inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Two baseball veterans, Kevin Correia and Joe Mauer played starring roles in helping the Twins to a 6-1 win over Baltimore Saturday afternoon
Game 28 – Baltimore Orioles (15-13) 1 Minnesota Twins (13-15) 6 F
W: Kevin Correia (1-3, 6.09)
L: Wei-Yin Chen (3-2, 4.24)
MVP: Joe Mauer 3-4, 4 RBIs, 2 R, 1 HR
The GOOD: A very subpar game for the Orioles in all three phases. Their only run was scored when Adam Jones struck out but reached on a wild pitch, stole second and then barely scored on a JJ Hardy single up the middle.
Nick Markakis had two more hits, including a double and continues to rake at the plate. JJ also had two hits, including a ninth inning double.
The BAD: Let’s start with the defense. Manny Machado and JJ Hardy both made errors, only the third time that has happened. On the error by Manny, Steve Pearce could have easily thrown out Brian Dozier advancing to second, but the throw was offline. No one expected the Orioles to be as good on defense as they were last year, but the early going has seen an average of an error every two games.
Also bad, Wei-Yin Chen never looked great in his start. He left up three runs in five innings of work, as he couldn’t record an out in the sixth. Chen continues to leave up a lot of hits, averaging over 10 hits per nine innings. He did strike out five batters, but his pitching count was very high in this one.
Brad Brach came in in relief of Chen, and left up two singles on balls not hit real well, but then a 3-R HR that Joe Mauer hammered to left field. Not the impression Brach wanted to make on Buck and the boys.
Kevin Correia is a pitcher the Orioles should have been able to beat, but instead he was in control all day. Only four people struck out, but the Orioles’ bats were largely silent in this one.
What’s NEXT: The Baltimore Orioles will go for the series win in the rubber game on Sunday afternoon, as they send Miguel Gonzalez (1-2, 5.19) to the mound to face Phil Hughes (2-1, 5.14). Several Orioles have very good numbers against Hughes from his time as a Yankee. Meanwhile, this will be Miguel’s first start in Target Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 from Minnesota.