Baltimore Opens 2016 Season With A Victory

Rain may have caused delays during the Baltimore Orioles home opener but the game was indeed for the birds. The Orioles defeated the Minnesota Twins on Monday night by a 3-2 score.

The Orioles have found success during their opening games in recent years. Their victory over the Twins marks the team’s sixth straight opening day victory. Baltimore will look to build on the momentum of this victory when they resume their three-game series against Minnesota on Wednesday.

Chris Tillman started and played well for the Orioles but he did not return to the mound after a second inning rain delay. The Orioles had good reason to start Tillman who secured the victory for the Orioles on opening day in each of the past two seasons. Tyler Wilson, Mychal Givens, Brad Brach, and Darren O’Day each made appearances while Zach Britton secured the victory.

https://twitter.com/BBTN/status/717159191446753280

Adam Jones opened the scoring for Baltimore with a double that batted in two runs. Joey Rickard and Manny Machado scored for the O’s on Jones’ double during the bottom of the fifth. Minnesota tied the game in the seventh inning with runs scored by Eddie Rosario and Byung Ho Park.

The game was a close one with the score remaining tied through the ninth inning. At the bottom of the ninth, Machado hit a foul ball for out number one then Jones struck out. With two outs, the Twins walked Chris Davis and then Mark Trumbo hit a well placed ball into center field to single. In dramatic fashion, Matt Wieters hit to center field to drive home Davis and help the O’s earn the victory.

#OpeningDay + Walk-off win = Orioles Magichttps://t.co/YIAkA0TSIL

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 5, 2016

Baltimore secured the opening day victory against the Twins which was a club that the O’s struggled against in 2015. According to Baseball-Reference.com, in seven games against Minnesota last season Baltimore went 0-7 and were outscored 43 to 18 during that span. The AL East promises to be a tough division in 2016 so it will be important for the Orioles to build on this early success to stay hot out of the gate.