MINNEAPOLIS — Ty Wigginton hit his
10th home run, just one short of his total last season, and starter
Brad Bergesen was at his best for the Baltimore Orioles in a 2-0
victory over the Minnesota Twins on a damp Thursday night.
Carl Pavano (3-3) lost his second
straight eight-inning, two-run performance. He went right at the
free-swinging Orioles, throwing 70 of 97 pitches for strikes, but
Wigginton spoiled the outing. With the homer, Wigginton moved into
second place behind Chicago's Paul Konerko (12) on the American League
home run list.
After failing to last past the fifth
in each of his first four starts, Bergesen (2-2) scattered six hits and
two walks over 6 2/3 innings. Will Ohman relieved him and walked Justin
Morneau to load the bases, but blew strike two and three past Jim
Thome's big bat to end the seventh.
Alfredo Simon pitched the ninth for his third save to finish the game in 2 hours, 17 minutes.
The Twins enjoyed a sunny, mostly
warm first homestand in April, but the weather has been less than ideal
so far in May. The first-pitch temperature was 52 degrees and though
there was hardly any wind the rain came in the second inning and kept
up at a steady pace. Still, in their first outdoor experience since
1981 before the move to the Metrodome, not one of the 13 games at
Target Field have been delayed by even a minute.
Bergesen went 7-5 with a 3.43 ERA in
19 starts last year as a rookie for the Orioles, before his season was
cut short at the end of July by a scary line off the shin. The
right-hander then hurt his shoulder before spring training throwing too
hard too soon while he filmed a commercial for the team.
His first four starts couldn't have
been much worse, with a mere 15 1/3 innings accumulated and 28 hits and
24 runs allowed. But armed with Wigginton's no-doubt, two-run drive to
left field in the second, Bergesen settled in the steady drizzle.
Michael Cuddyer hit a deep drive to
center with three men on in the second, but Adam Jones caught it on the
warning track. The Twins fell to 7-for-47 with the bases loaded this
season, dropping only their fourth game in 13 contests at Target Field.
This was the first visit to the
limestone-and-glass ballpark for the Orioles, who have gone 6-5 since
their 2-16 start but still have baseball's worst record.
Notes
Orioles RH Koji Uehara came
off the disabled list before the game and pitched a perfect eighth. The
35-year-old, making $5 million this season, appeared for the first time
since elbow tendinitis knocked him out last June. "I'm looking forward
to seeing him pitch and getting him in there when we can," manager Dave
Trembley said before the game. Uehara, the Orioles' first Japan-born
player, will only be used for an inning at a time. … Twins RH Pat
Neshek, on the DL with what was initially diagnosed as inflammation of
the middle finger on his pitching hand, is now reporting discomfort
closer to the middle of his hand. "I have all the confidence in the
world that our doctors are doing everything they possibly can to help
this young man out," manager Ron Gardenhire said. … Before the game,
the crowd observed a moment of silence to honor the death of Hall of
Fame pitcher Robin Roberts, who spent three seasons with Baltimore
toward the end of his career. … The Twins have been outhomered at
home 14-7 this year. … Pavano induced three double plays. He pitched
with a full week of a rest, due to a stiff neck and a slight rotation
shuffle.