MINNEAPOLIS -- Nobody would confuse Bailey Ober’s outing on Thursday with a work of art. It won’t be hanging on the wall at the Walker Art Center or even on Ober’s refrigerator any time soon.
But he gets a gold star for the day nevertheless after turning in one of the gutsiest outings for a Twins starter this year. And his high-wire act gave the Twins room to stage a late comeback for their fifth straight win, as Brooks Lee’s two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning broke a tie game and propelled the Twins to a 5-2 victory over the Orioles at Target Field on Thursday.
Ober was scheduled to start Friday’s series opener against the Giants, but when Joe Ryan got sick and couldn’t make his start on Thursday, Ober got the nod. He was pitching on his usual rest, but moving your expected start from Friday night to Thursday at noon can throw a wrench into any pitcher’s preparation.
“I kinda had it in the back of my mind, because I knew Joe was sick on Tuesday, so just kind of being able to prepare for both teams, whether that’s Baltimore or the Giants, just kind of put that in my mindset,” said Ober. “Just tried to go out there and do my job. Felt good, so I was able to get the appropriate preparation in and scout these guys and was able to learn and watch a lot from the last two games.”
Ober battled all day, leaving runners on base in each of his five innings on the mound. He had to especially buckle down in the second and again in the third, when the Orioles had runners on second and third with only one out and a run already on the scoreboard in each inning.
In the second, he struck out Maverick Handley and Gunnar Henderson to end the threat. The next inning, he fanned Heston Kjerstad and Coby Mayo to leave two runners in scoring position.
Ober dug himself another hole in the fourth when Emmanuel Rivera and Handley led off with singles. This time, he threw a four-seamer past Henderson for the first out, then got Jackson Holliday to hit into a nifty 4-6-3 double play started by Lee that stranded Rivera at third.
He saved his finest work for the fifth inning, however, after he hit Ryan O’Hearn with a pitch and gave up a double to Ryan Mountcastle. Runners on second and third, nobody out? No problem. Ramón Laureano fouled out to the catcher. Kjerstad struck out. Mayo grounded out to shortstop.
“It was definitely a grindy one,” Ober said of his outing. “I’m pretty tired right now.
“Hopefully next time, when I face [Baltimore] next week, maybe I’ll have a 1-2-3 inning to get a little rest. There was a lot of traffic and I had to make some pitches when guys were in scoring position and was able to do so. Luckily they hit some balls at our guys and they made some good plays. The double play was huge to get me out of that inning.”
Another big play came after Cole Sands took over for Ober in the sixth. Rivera led off with a double, and one out later Henderson singled to center. Rivera tried to score, but Byron Buxton came up with a huge throw to nail Rivera at the plate.
“I thought there was a chance, but again, it comes down to you’ve basically got to make a perfect throw,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You’ve got to make a perfect throw from 250 feet away, as quickly as you can. He’s the man.”
Meanwhile, Baltimore right-hander Dean Kremer was cruising, holding the Twins to just that first-inning run until Trevor Larnach stung him in the sixth. Kremer left a fastball up and in and Larnach turned on it, lining it deep into the right-field seats to tie the game 2-2.
From there, Lee’s two-out double scored a pair in the eighth, and Ty France’s third single of the day brought Lee home with an insurance run.
Jhoan Duran pitched a perfect ninth inning, closing the book on a remarkable series for the bullpen. Over the past three games, Twins relievers have pitched 12 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing eight hits and walking two while striking out 17 batters.
“A bullpen that goes out there and just puts their head down and puts up zeroes and does their job, attacks hitters with good stuff, yeah, you’re going to want to go to those guys and let them do it,” Baldelli said.
None of it would have been possible without Ober stranding eight runners in his five innings.
“He keeps guys uncomfortable and they seem even more uncomfortable, normally, when there are people on base,” Baldelli said. “Whatever he’s doing, it’s been going really good for him for about five years. So it’s no accident that he continues to pitch well in those big spots.”