Can Bundy on Sunday be the answer against the Twins?

MINNEAPOLIS - If the Orioles are to get one win this year against the Minnesota Twins, right-hander Dylan Bundy (0-3, 6.56 ERA) may be their last hope. Believe it or not, the Orioles and Twins don't play again in 2019 after today.

The Twins are 5-0 in the season series. They've hit 10 homers to none for the Orioles this weekend at Target Field, posting 6-1 and 9-2 wins. In five games against Baltimore pitching this year, Twins batters are hitting .306 with 41 runs on 57 hits, including 21 homers. They have hit three, eight, zero, five and five homers versus the Orioles.

Minnesota has hit 44.7 percent of its 47 homers in 2019 against the Orioles. They average 4.2 homers per game against the Birds and 1.4 against every other team.

The potential good news for the Orioles is that Bundy threw well in a 4-3 loss to Minnesota last Sunday at Camden Yards. And for the second time in five 2019 starts, he did not allow a homer. Over six innings, his longest outing of the season, he gave up four runs (two earned) on 95 pitches.

For the first time in his five starts, Bundy threw fewer than 50 percent fastballs in that game. He threw his four-seamer 37 times, his two-seam fastball five times, his changeup 23 times, his slider 17 times and his curveball 13 times.

Jesús Sucre caught Bundy that day and liked that pitch mix.

"I think if he keeps doing that he can do well," said Sucre. "When you are behind in the count, you want to still be able to throw any pitch you want and Dylan can do that. He can throw anything for a strike.

"I think he is trusting his stuff a little more, like he used to. That lineup is pretty aggressive, so before the game, we talked about pitching backwards a lot. I think he did great, commanded the slider and his curveball well."

Bundy's four-seamer averaged 90.7 mph in that game and topped at 92.2 mph per Statcast. According to Brooksbaseball.net, Bundy is averaging 91.2 mph this year, which is down from 92.1 mph last year. But Sucre thinks with his pitch mix, Bundy has enough fastball to succeed.

"Yeah, I believe that. His fastball has some life and is pretty good. What can make that better is continuing to mix in the off-speed pitches," said Sucre.

Bundy pledged to throw his changeup more back in spring training and he has done that. He threw that pitch 10 percent of the time last year and that is up to 19 percent this season.

Can Bundy have a second straight quality start against the Twins today?

About Saturday: The Orioles bullpen allowed five homers and eight runs in Saturday's 9-2 loss. Starter Dan Straily gave up one unearned run over four innings, but a pitch count of 89 got him out of there after he recorded just 12 outs.

Straily tried to talk manager Brandon Hyde into letting him start the fifth.

"I think we are always trying to come back out," Straily said. "You know, just piled in a lot of pitches late there. Seems like every pitch I threw, these guys found a way to foul it off. Just wasn't able to go deep into the ballgame like you want to as a starting pitcher. But I was able to give our team what I had inside me today."

The Orioles' Trey Mancini seemingly dodged a bullet Saturday after leaving the game with an injury in the first inning. He had a pitch hit his right index finger while he was trying to swing. X-rays were negative and he suffered a contusion. He should avoid the injured list. Click here to read the postgame quotes from Saturday on Mancini's injury.

The Twins have won 11 in a row over the Orioles. That is tied for their fifth-longest win streak against any team in club history.

* Won 17 straight against Boston in 1965-66
* Won 16 in a row over Detroit in 2002-03
* Won 14 straight against Tampa Bay in 2004-06
* Won 12 in a row over Detroit in 1988-89
* Won 11 in a row over Tampa Bay in 2002-03 and Baltimore in 2018-19.

Nelson Cruz is batting .455 (10-for-22) in five games against the O's in 2019 with two doubles, four homers and six RBIs. In 69 career games against the Orioles, he is batting .362 with 21 doubles, 17 homers and 58 RBIs.

The Orioles have scored just three runs in this series. The O's have scored four or fewer runs in 17 games this year, going 2-15.