Orioles and Twins lineups for first game of last regular season series

MINNEAPOLIS – Here we go again.

An Orioles win tonight clinches the home Wild Card, or they’d need the Tigers to lose to the White Sox.

Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter with Ryan Mountcastle at first base. Jordan Westburg gets another start at second base, and he’s batting second.

Cade Povich is making his first career appearance against the team that drafted him in 2021. He’s posted a 3.27 ERA and 0.955 WHIP this month in four starts totaling 22 innings, and he’s struck out 30 batters. Opponents are batting .175/.241/.363.

Twenty-six of Anthony Santander’s 77 hits on the road this season are home runs (33.8 percent), the highest percentage by an Oriole with a minimum 75 hits since Brady Anderson’s 35.2 in 1996 per STATS.

The Orioles swept a three-game series from the Twins last year at Target Field by a combined 24-5 score. The teams met at Camden Yards in April and the Orioles swept the three-game series while outscoring the Twins 22-9.

The winning streak has grown to seven games by 48-15. One more would tie the franchise’s second-longest stretch behind 12 in a row from 1980-81 per STATS.

Gunnar Henderson is slugging 1.177 against the American League Central this season. He homered in all three games against the Twins in April.  

Minnesota right-hander Pablo López is 15-9 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.180 WHIP in 31 starts, and he’s walked 38 batters and struck out 190 in 179 2/3 innings.

López had three consecutive scoreless starts in August totaling 20 2/3 innings. He didn’t give up an earned run over seven innings against the Angels on Sept. 10 and held the Guardians to two runs in 6 1/3 before facing the Red Sox in his last outing and surrendering seven runs and nine hits in four innings.

The Orioles faced López on April 17 in Baltimore and were held to one run and two hits in six innings. Gunnar Henderson hit a leadoff homer. López has made three career starts against the Orioles and gone 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 0.588 WHIP in 17 innings.

The Twins were in the thick of the Wild Card race but fell back to “first team out” status in the playoff picture. They lost five of six games before Wednesday’s 8-3 win over the Marlins. They had an earlier stretch of nine losses in 12 games in August.

Minnesota was 70-53 through Aug. 17 but has gone 12-24 with a 4.65 ERA and .266 opponents average, the worst marks in the American League in that span per STATS.

For the Orioles

Gunnar Henderson SS
Jordan Westburg 2B
Anthony Santander RF
Colton Cowser LF
Adley Rutschman C
Ryan O’Hearn DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Cedric Mullins CF
Ramón Urías 3B

Cade Povich LHP

For the Twins

Manuel Margot RF
Carlos Correa SS
Byron Buxton CF
Carlos Santana 1B
Royce Lewis 3B
Kyle Farmer 2B
Ryan Jeffers DH
Christian Vázquez C
Willi Castro LF

Pablo López RHP