Buxton and Bader hit big homers as Twins top Orioles 5-2

MINNEAPOLIS, MN— Byron Buxton stayed hot at the plate with his third home run in as many games, and Harrison Bader delivered a pinch-hit blast to help the Minnesota Twins notch their fourth straight win, beating the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 on Wednesday night.

Buxton launched a three-run homer into the second deck in left field during the third inning off Orioles starter Charlie Morton (0-7), giving the Twins a 3-1 lead. The slugger had also gone deep in Tuesday’s 9-1 win and hit a solo shot on Sunday in Boston.

Danny Coulombe (1-0) tossed a scoreless inning in relief to earn the win, while Jhoan Durán closed it out with a perfect ninth, earning his fifth save of the season. The Twins have now matched their longest win streak of the year.

Baltimore, meanwhile, has dropped four straight — their longest skid of the season.

Leading 3-2 in the seventh, Minnesota got a lift from Bader, who pinch-hit for Kody Clemens and promptly crushed a two-run homer off Keegan Akin. It marked the first pinch-hit homer of Bader’s career. He now has four homers and 16 RBIs in his debut season with the Twins.

Ramón Laureano accounted for Baltimore’s first run with a solo homer off Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson in the third inning. The Orioles added another run in the fifth but couldn’t pull closer.

Morton’s struggles continued as the 41-year-old righty allowed three runs on four hits over four innings, pushing his ERA to 9.38 through nine outings (six starts).

Woods Richardson pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing a run on five hits.

Coulombe’s scoreless inning on Wednesday extended his streak to 14.1 shutout innings this season out of the bullpen.

Up next: The Orioles will turn to Dean Kremer (3-4, 5.73 ERA) for Thursday’s series finale, while Bailey Ober (4-1, 3.72 ERA) will take the mound for the Twins in place of Joe Ryan, who was scratched due to illness.