Written By Tom Schreier
The Baltimore Orioles struck early and often, beating the Minnesota Twins soundly 9-2 behind 7.0 innings from Tyler Wilson and four home runs.
Mark Trumbo took Twins starter Phil Hughes deep in the second, scoring Chris Davis. Then Davis and Trumbo hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth, putting Baltimore up 5-1.
“We tried to find ways to hang around, but they had a lot of offense these last two games,” said manager Paul Molitor. “They hit the ball out of the park. And that’s one thing that Phil’s been battling is is trying to keep the ball in the park a little bit better, so it wasn’t a particularly good day for him or us.”
Hughes said that he has lost his identity as a pitcher after the game, noting that he usually pounds the strike zone and avoids making mistakes like the Trumbo, which he himself said most major league players would hit into the seats.
Parker Hageman of TwinsDaily.com pointed out on Twitter that Hughes’ velocity has dropped steadily since the 2013 season.
Phil Hughes Average Fastball Velocity:
2013 92.3
2014 92.1
2015 90.6
2016 90.3— Parker Hageman (@ParkerHageman) May 11, 2016
Hughes, for his part, did not seem incredibly concerned about it, as you can see from the video above. Molitor didn’t either, echoing Hughes, who said that he can operate at 90-91 mph.
“I’ve seen him pitch effectively at 90-91 mph,” said Molitor. “Every once in a while he’ll have a day where he’s maybe a little fresher than others, and he’ll get a tick or two above that.
“But I don’t think it’s about velocity right now for him.”
Miguel Sano hit a home run on his 23rd birthday, and Danny Santana scored Eddie Rosario after Rosario hit a double in the fifth, but Minnesota would get no closer than 5-2 on Wednesday.
Pat Dean and Brandon Kintzler both gave up two earned runs apiece in the loss. Dean, who made his major league debut, was able to enjoy the moment at least — even in a blowout loss.