BALTIMORE — As Cedric Mullins trotted around the bases, Louie Varland paced. And paced. And then appeared to yell angrily into his glove. Varland’s frustration simmered over after Mullins got ahold of a 2-1 cutter and sent it out into right field for a two-run home run.
Those two runs were the fifth and sixth Varland gave up in his five innings as part of the Twins’ 7-4 loss to Baltimore on Monday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
It was a difficult day from the outset for Varland against one of baseball’s best lineups, and he was hurt early by the Twins’ infield defense when Edouard Julien was unable to turn what should have been an inning-ending double play.
That kept the inning alive long enough for the Orioles to put a couple of runs on the board. Baltimore tacked on another pair of runs in the third inning off Varland, and they added two more on Mullins’ big swing two innings later.
For Varland, it was the second straight start that he has given up six runs. To date this season, the St. Paulite has allowed 13 earned runs in 14 innings over three starts.
The Twins would never recover from the hole they fell into, despite the efforts of Ryan Jeffers and Jose Miranda. Both went 3 for 4 with a pair of runs batted in, with Miranda hitting his first major league home run since April 28 in the second inning.
Miranda would later drive in Byron Buxton with an RBI single in the fourth inning.
Jeffers, meanwhile, had a pair of doubles, including one in the seventh inning that brought home two runs. The catcher was left stranded on second base in the first inning when Mullins made a highlight reel diving play to rob Kyle Farmer of extra bases and an RBI that would have given the Twins an early lead.
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