Wieters, Cruz continue to rake as Orioles take 3-0 lead (O's win 3-0)

Orioles catcher Matt Wieters is on a serious roll. Wieters has now registered six multi-hit games in the last seven, going 13-for-30 with three doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in that stretch. His run-scoring double in the fourth inning tonight, a shot off the fence in center field, scored Nelson Cruz for a 1-0 lead over the Twins at Target Field. Cruz led off with a double, but Twins left fielder Jason Kubel played the ball like a live grenade. You may remember that the Orioles had interest in Kubel over the winter, but he turned down their offer for a minor league deal with the Twins that included a spring invite and assurances that he'd be heading north with them. But I digress... Before tonight, Wieters led all catchers with 17 RBIs. Tack on another one for him. He also was tied for second with five home runs and tied for fourth with 27 hits. Wieters has two more hits against a right-hander, Ricky Nolasco, and is now batting .397 from the left side of the plate. His overall average is up to .358. Manny Machado went 0-for-5 last night in his first game since late September, but center fielder Sam Fuld robbed him of an extra-base hit in his first at-bat tonight before he just singled in the top of the sixth and scored on Cruz's eighth home run of the season, a blast off the facing of the third deck. Cruz is batting .300 with 27 RBIs, a bargain at $8 million. If he continues at this pace, someone is going to pay dearly in 2015. Ubaldo Jimenez's stuff looks pretty nasty tonight. He's retired nine of the last 10 batters, the only runner reaching on second baseman Jonathan Schoop's error in the fifth. He's held the Twins to two hits and struck out seven. Update: So, how do you like Jimenez in May? Looking like a vastly different pitcher tonight, Jimenez has shut out the Twins on two hits and struck out 10 batters over seven innings. He's issued only one walk. He's dominating. He's also coming back out for the eighth with his pitch count at 113. Jimenez has recorded 11 ground ball outs. No fly balls. Update II: Zach Britton has replaced Jimenez with a runner on second base and one out in the eighth. The out naturally came on a fly ball, since I pointed out the stat. Three hits allowed by Jimenez over 7 1/3 innings. Update III: Britton retired both batters he faced in the eighth. Tommy Hunter earned his eighth save after allowing one hit and fanning two in a scoreless ninth to finish off a 3-0 Orioles win. That gave Jimenez his first win as a member of the club and lowered his ERA from 6.59 to 5.19 in the process. The Orioles won their third straight and fourth in five games to improve to 15-12.