By Canadian Press on May 14, 2025.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Kody Clemens hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to lead the Minnesota Twins to their 10th straight victory, 8-6 over the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday.
Minnesota rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win the opener 6-3, then fell behind 6-4 before coming back in the second game. The Twins trailed by a run when Willi Castro led off the eighth with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a balk by Yennier Cano (0-3). After a walk to Royce Lewis, Clemens hit a drive to right to give Minnesota the lead.
Kody Funderburk (1-0) won in relief. Cole Sands pitched a perfect ninth for his first save.
The Orioles scored six runs in the third — thanks largely to a grand slam by Cedric Mullins and a solo shot by Heston Kjerstad — but managed no further scoring.
Trevor Larnach hit a two-run homer in the second for Minnesota. The Twins led 4-0 before Baltimore’s big third inning.
Minnesota outfielder Harrison Bader left the game with left groin tightness. First baseman Ty France didn’t play after leaving the opener with a foot issue.
Key moment
Lewis is 2 for 23 on the season, but he was able to reach base against Cano. Then Clemens, who is batting .179 on the year, took him deep.
Key stat
The Orioles scored nine runs in the third inning of the two games Wednesday — and none in the other 16.
Up next
Tomoyuki Sugano (4-2) takes the mound for the Orioles against Chris Paddack (1-3) in Thursday’s series finale. The Twins have a chance to sweep the season series against Baltimore after taking all three games in Minnesota last week.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Noah Trister, The Associated Press