Orioles pound Varland as Twins slump to 6-9 start
Louie Varland surrendered three homers and a 11 hits in five innings.
Gunnar Henderson, Cedric Mullens and Ryan O'Hearn all homered and the Orioles dumped the Twins 7-4 in the first game of a three-game series in Baltimore on Monday night.
Baltimore's young nucleus lit up Twins right-hander Louie Varland for 11 hits in just five innings. Jordan Westburg led the way with three hits including a two-run double in the first inning. Henderson, Mullens, O'Hearn, Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle all had two hits for the O's.
Varland saw his earned-run average rise to 8.36 through three starts. He allowed six runs though only four were earned thanks to an error by second baseman Eddy Julien in the first inning.
Jose Miranda and Ryan Jeffers each went 3-for-4 for the Twins. Jeffers extended his hitting streak to six games and drove in a pair of runs with his second double of the game in the seventh inning. Miranda homered in the second inning and drove in Byron Buxton with a single in the fourth inning.
Jackson Holiday, the No. 1 prospect in the majors, went 0-for-4 for the Orioles. He's now 1-for-19 to begin his MLB career.
The Twins are now 6-9 to start the season. Game 2 of the series is set for 5:35 p.m. CT Tuesday.
