BALTIMORE – For one day at least, the new-look Twins bullpen showed that it is up to the task.
Five Minnesota relievers combined to get 14 outs against a dangerous lineup in a cozy ballpark, supporting a strong but short outing from Taj Bradley as the Twins won their first game of the young season, 4-1 against the Orioles at Camden Yards on Saturday.
Royce Lewis hit a two-run homer, then singled, stole a base, and scored on a Kody Clemens single for insurance, to provide the bulk of the offense. Byron Buxton added two hits and scored a run.
Bradley turned around his fortunes at Camden, a park where he had previously made two extremely ill-fated starts. He struck out nine Orioles and allowed one run over 4 1/3 innings, but needed 92 pitches to get through his outing, leading to the early arrival of the relief corps.
And that group shined. Anthony Banda hit a batter and issued a walk but struck out a pair to get through the fifth, and Kody Funderburk allowed a pair of soft singles but also fanned two in the sixth. Eric Orze got Gunnar Henderson to escape a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, then pitched a perfect seventh and Justin Topa breezed through the eighth.
That set the stage for the Twins’ first save opportunity of the year, and it went to Cole Sands, who handled it with aplomb.