Christian Vazquez, bullpen power Twins over Orioles to open doubleheader

The winning streak has reached nine.

After a scheduled off day followed by a rainout, the Twins stayed hot with a 6-3 win over the Orioles in the opening game of Wednesday's doubleheader in Baltimore. Christian Vazquez delivered the big hit for Minnesota, a go-ahead three-run shot in the fourth inning, and the Twins' bullpen put together another shutdown outing to seal the deal.

Brooks Lee also homered for the Twins (22-20), who out-hit the Orioles 9-4 and overcame four errors (two by Lee) to get the win. They added two key insurance runs in the top of the ninth when Trevor Larnach hit an RBI double and then scored on a wild pitch. Rocco Baldelli's team will now look to stretch their streak to double digits in the second game on Wednesday afternoon.

After the Orioles (15-25) scored three two-out runs off of Bailey Ober in the bottom of the third inning, including a two-run homer by Gunnar Henderson, the Twins immediately answered back. Lee homered for the second game in a row to put Minnesota on the board. Then, following a Carlos Correa infield hit and a Willi Castro walk, Vazquez came through with the difference-making blast off of Dean Kremer with two outs.

It was the first homer Vazquez has hit since August 13 of last year. Primarily known for his defense, he came into this game hitting .170 with just two RBI, so this was a key offensive contribution from a most unlikely source.