Orioles-Twins Series Preview: The 2024 regular season comes to an end

The Orioles couldn’t stave off the Yankees’ capture of the AL East, but there’s still plenty to play for as they head into their final series of the season, taking on the Twins in Minnesota. The Twins are in must-win mode, but things aren’t looking good. They’ve fallen down the stretch, and after last night’s 8-6 loss to Miami in extra innings, they’re now tied with the Mariners with three games to go, three games behind Kansas City and Detroit for the AL’s final Wild Card spot go. For the Twins to make the postseason now, everything would have to go right for them and everything would have to go wrong for the Orioles. No ill will toward Minnesota, but let’s make sure that doesn’t happen, shall we?

The O’s and Twins have played just one series this season, in April, which Baltimore won while outscoring Minnesota 24-11.

Game 1: Friday, 7:10 p.m., MASN

LHP Cade Povich (2-9, 5.59 ERA) vs. RHP Pablo López (15-9, 4.11)

Pablo López was the Twins’ best starter, but he couldn’t get them over the finish line in a tough 4-3 loss to the Guardians last week. However, it is the Twins’ offense that has let them down, not their pitching, as López allowed two earned runs on eight hits and two walks while recording four strikeouts. The decline in strikeouts is a slight concern for the right-handers, who have maintained a high K/9 average all season.

Rookie Cade Povich is still figuring it out, but he’s shown enough to be interesting next year. In his last outing, the left-hander delivered a decent performance in a 6-4 loss to the Tigers last Saturday, allowing two earned runs on just two hits and three walks while striking out seven in five innings. Despite showing persistent control issues, Povich manages to limit the damage and pile up strikeouts.

Game 2, Saturday, 6:15 p.m., FOX

TBD (likely Albert Suárez, 8-7, 3.74) vs. RHP Zebby Matthews (1-3, 5.71)

24-year-old Zebby (for Daniel Zebulon) Matthews was called up to the Twins’ MLB roster on August 13 from Triple-A St. Paul. In eight starts, he’s striking out batters at a decent clip (9.6 K/9), but his ERA is inflated and he’s not giving this depleted team much time. In his last outing, he allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five over 3.1 innings against the Angels.

There have been ups and downs for Albert Suárez this year, but overall it has been a godsend for a rotation that has already lost five starters to injury this year. In his last outing, he looked shaky in a 4-3 loss to Detroit, with all of the Tigers’ runs ending with three home runs against Suárez. The Twins’ offense wasn’t as hot as Detroit’s. So if the veteran right-hander can stop throwing cutters over the plate, he should be fine.

Game 3, Sunday, 2:10 p.m., MASN2

TBD (likely RHP Dean Kremer, 8-10, 4.10) vs. RHP Bailey Ober (12-8, 3.94)

Bailey Ober was a horse for the Twins this year, turning in no fewer than eighteen quality starts (six innings of three runs or less). But he also appears to be succumbing to fatigue down the stretch, with a 5.45 ERA in his last seven games. In his last outing, the right-hander allowed four earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out seven over five innings in the 4-1 loss to the Marlins, one of those tough road losses that ended Minnesota’s playoff hopes has.

Dean Kremer is returning to form as the season ends, with an impressive one-run performance in the Orioles’ 5-3 win over the Yankees on Tuesday that secured them a playoff spot. The right-hander has struggled with inconsistency this season, but he is 3-1 with a 3.20 ERA in his last seven starts and makes a strong case to be the Orioles’ No. 3 starter if they choose him should need. (And we hope they do.)