In a crucial matchup, the Baltimore Orioles secured the top American League wild-card spot with a 7-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. The Orioles’ win eliminated the Twins from postseason contention and ensured they will host a playoff series against either Detroit or Kansas City next week.
Ryan O’Hearn and Colton Cowser led the charge for the Orioles, each hitting a home run to propel their team to victory. Starter Cade Povich pitched a stellar game, giving up only two hits and one walk while striking out two in 5⅔ innings.
The Twins, meanwhile, struggled to find their rhythm, managing only two hits through the first eight innings. Despite knowing they needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, they couldn’t overcome the Orioles’ dominant performance.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli reflected on the disappointing end to their season, saying, “It was clearly beyond a disappointing way to end a run and what was, and appeared to be, a promising season that we had going.” The Twins had been riding high earlier in the season, holding a five-game cushion in the wild-card race on August 17, but have since gone 12-25.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde praised his team’s effort, saying, “To get home field through the wild card is huge. We’re going to be pumped to play in front of our fans. There’s going to be a lot of energy and excitement in the ballpark.”
The Twins will now spend the offseason analyzing what went wrong and how to prevent a similar collapse in the future. As Baldelli noted, “You look at how the season went as a whole. We’re also going to look at how the last six weeks went, because that’s what a lot of us are feeling right now.”
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