MINNEAPOLIS — On a night when the Orioles gambled with a rare start for Ubaldo Jimenez and were rewarded for their boldness, it was the most reliable part of their pitching staff — the bullpen — that made this one-day trip to Minnesota a fruitless one.
The lead Jimenez left his club with was quickly erased as the Minnesota Twins teed off on the Orioles bullpen in a 6-2 win Thursday at Target Field. That has the Orioles (58-43) on a three-game skid entering a weekend series with the rival Toronto Blue Jays.
Making his first appearance since July 8, Jimenez turned in as solid of an outing as the Orioles could have hoped for Thursday. He struck out eight in five innings, walking three and allowing five hits but getting some timely outs with Twins in scoring position to allow just one run.
"He took a long All-Star break and pitched well," manager Buck Showalter said. "He's been throwing, and that would have been a convenient excuse that I'm sure everybody would have [used], but not Ubaldo. He was excited to get out there. I could tell he was a little strong early. I thought the split was good and he was crisp. ... We just didn't get it done much after that and didn't seize on some opportunities. They pitched well, too."
Jimenez has been a drag for the pitching staff since essentially mid-April, shuffling out of the rotation because of ineffectiveness and back into it out of necessity. Aside from wanting to stretch out the rotation a bit in a long run of games without a day off, Jimenez's start in Minnesota came because Target Field has been an oasis of sorts for him, and he pitched to his track record Thursday.
The cameo was one Jimenez, who also welcomed a baby with his wife earlier this week and was booed off the mound at Camden Yards last time he got into a game, felt was important on many levels.
"I really needed it," Jimenez said. "I mean, it's been a long time since I faced hitters. It felt great to be out there with my teammates. That's what we play for, to be out there and try to compete and win every night. We didn't get the win, and we'll have to move on, but it felt really good."
"He's had a lot of good things happen in his life lately," Showalter said. "It kind of gives you a chance to step back and realize the sky's not always falling and live in a realistic world. He gave us a chance to win tonight and I was proud of him."
Balancing bullpen
The underlying thinking that went into giving Jimenez a start — saving some of the Orioles' young starters and conserving pitching for the remaining 61 games — ultimately hurt the club when it came time to go to the bullpen. Uncharacteristic struggles for Odrisamer Despaigne, who was charged with four runs on five hits in 1 1/3 innings of relief, compounded by a difficult night for Chaz Roe, saw a 2-1 lead turn into a 6-2 deficit.
Showalter said Despaigne was up in the zone, whereas most of his success comes when he keeps it low, but everyone in the bullpen was available.
With Toronto looming, Showalter stayed away from Darren O'Day, Brad Brach and Zach Britton even as the game was close.
"The situations called for where we were," Showalter said. "We had to use a lot of guys, Darren and [Mychal Givens], and we're trying to make sure everybody gets their rest and is available to pitch. We could have used anybody if we had to tonight, but that's just kind of how it fell."
Leadoff home run
For the second time in 16 games, center fielder Adam Jones homered on the first pitch an opposing starter threw in the first inning. His leadoff home run Thursday staked the Orioles to a quick lead, and extended an incredible run for the host Twins. Minnesota pitchers have allowed four first-pitch home runs in their past eight games.
Blunders on the bases
A pair of costly sends at third base prevented the Orioles from enjoying a big fourth inning. A leadoff single by first baseman Chris Davis and a line-drive double by right fielder Mark Trumbo put runners on second and third with no outs. But Davis was thrown out at home trying to score on a ground ball to third base, and Trumbo was erased at home on a single by designated hitter Pedro Alvarez to right field.
"We didn't run out of anything," Showalter said. "They made good plays. We've been scuffling to score runs. You take an opportunity to score like that any time and you tip your hat to them when they throw him out. They threw him out, and we didn't. They barely did."
All told, the Orioles should have had more reward for their 11 hits. Alvarez had three hits while Davis, Jones and shortstop J.J. Hardy each had two in the loss.
Say hey, J.J.
In addition to his two hits, including an RBI single that put the Orioles ahead in the fourth inning, Hardy made an over-the-shoulder basket catch at medium depth, the likes of which was made famous by Willie Mays. It was challenged for the mantel of best play of the night two innings later, when Hardy ranged to his left for a nifty double play to get Despaigne out of a jam in the sixth. Since returning from his fractured foot, Hardy is batting .309 (38-for-123).
Unenviable distinction
Catcher Caleb Joseph's seemingly endless stretch without an RBI stretched to 101 at-bats. He had two on and two out in the second and fourth innings, but grounded out to end the frame each time.
jmeoli@baltsun.com
twitter.com/JonMeoli