Gibson strikes out nine as Twins beat Orioles

Published 6:06 am Monday, July 9, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS  — Bobby Wilson helped Kyle Gibson turn around his pitching after a rough first inning. Then, for at least one afternoon, the veteran catcher fixed his own struggles at the plate.

Wilson went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, Gibson recovered from a shaky first to throw seven innings, and the Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 on Saturday.

Max Kepler homered in his second straight game to help send the Twins to their third win in a row.

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“You take them any way you can get them,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “We haven’t had the luxury of any kind of run here as of late, so to start out the home stand with three, it feels pretty good.”

The Twins didn’t bring in Wilson for his offense — his two-hit day raised his batting average to .134 — so they’re not expecting him to deliver game-turning hits on a regular basis. But that’s exactly what he did with an RBI single in the fifth that made it 3-2, and a two-RBI double the next inning that proved the game-winner.

It was Wilson’s first multi-hit game since Sept. 21, 2016.

“I feel like I’ve been doing everything I can defensively but it’s time to start turning that corner and start contributing offensively as well,” Wilson said.

Earlier in the day, the team needed Wilson’s smarts behind the plate to recover from an early hole.

Gibson (3-6) allowed three runs in the first inning — including a two-run homer by Chris Davis — but only gave up two hits after that while striking out nine. It was Gibson’s highest strikeout total since fanning 10 batters on April 26 against the New York Yankees.

“After the first inning we sat down and I said ‘Gibby talk to me, what do we got to do? What’s going to turn this around?’ So we talked about a few things and we kind of stuck with that game plan for the rest of the game,” Wilson said.

Kepler’s solo shot off Kevin Gausman sparked a three-run fifth that tied it. Wilson’s two-run double off Miguel Castro (2-5) in the sixth gave Minnesota the lead for good.

Trevor Hildenberger worked a scoreless eighth for the Twins. Jace Peterson’s RBI double off Fernando Rodney pulled the Orioles to 5-4, but Rodney got Tim Beckham on a grounder to short to convert his 19th save in 24 chances.

The team with baseball’s worst record, meanwhile, lost its fifth in the row and fell 40 games below .500.

“It’s kind of hard to believe that’s where we’re at right now,” Davis said. “I feel like anytime we start to build some momentum, we either give it right back to the other team or we do something to kind of take ourselves out of the game.”