Late Orioles Rally Swamps Twins, 9-5

The pitching issues that troubled Twins fans in the preseason finally bubbled up on Friday afternoon, as Liam Hendriks failed to get through the 5th inning, and a depleted bullpen saw Tyler Robertson facing the red-hot Chris Davis with the bases loaded in the 8th inning and the game knotted at 5-5. In the parlance of Dickandbert, Davis did not miss a Robertson offering, and the grand slam sent Baltimore to a 9-5 victory in their home opener.

The Twins led for a significant portion of the game, as they jumped on Orioles' starter for an early 4-1 lead. An RBI single by Chris "GENE" Parmelee opened the scoring for Minnesota, and 2-run triple from Brian "Just Brian" Dozier and another RBI single from Eduardo Escobar added to the lead.

The inconsistency that has bedeviled Hendriks his entire major league career was still in evidence. After loading the bases in the 4th with nobody out, the Australian Sensation (not his nickname) battled back, allowing just one run and looking like he was ready to finish the game strong. By the 5th, the game was tied and Hendriks was out of the game and not factoring in the decision.

Dozier's third RBI of the game gave the Twins a 5-4 lead, but the bullpen, which has already been used plenty and without Jared Burton available for a third consecutive day of work, was ultimately unable to hold the line. Casey Fien, who was responsible for the baserunners Robertson inherited, took the loss.

The team FINALLY plays a night game tomorrow, so get some rest and we'll see you tomorrow night. Enjoy your weekend, everybody.