The Minnesota Twins are starting off the season on the wrong foot, and fell to 0-2 on the year with an 8-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.
Twins batters left 14 men on base during the game, and were unable to break through in the scoring column until the eighth inning with the game far out of reach. Jamey Carroll and Joe Mauer each drove in the only two Minnesota runs with a pair of consecutive groundouts that ended in a fielder's choice.
Minnesota starting pitcher Francisco Liriano tossed only four innings of eight-hit ball with six runs allowed to take the loss, and doesn't appear to look any different than the pitcher who posted a 5.09 ERA last in 2011. Liriano will now open the season with an insurmountably-high 11.25 ERA.
Good news for the Twins is that Justin Morneau went 2-for-4 with a double, moving his season average to .375. Morneau's health remains one of the biggest black clouds over this team, and his hot start at the plate could be a sign of things to come.
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