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.

The Minnesota DFL on Monday disavowed a local party chapter’s endorsement of a Minnesota House candidate convicted of second-degree felony assault as Republicans criticized the move to back him in the first place.

Democrats in Senate District 12 in northwestern Minnesota endorsed Judd Hoff over the weekend. He is running against Republican Rep. Mary Franson of Alexandria.

In August 2020, Hoff assaulted a person with a machete after a confrontation. According to court documents, Hoff argued that he was using self-defense.

Hoff received a 13-month prison sentence. He served about eight months in the St. Cloud prison before being put on supervised release for the remainder of the sentence, which was completed in January 2023.

“I have asked the local unit in question to withdraw their endorsement immediately,” state DFL Chair Ken Martin said in a written statement.

Hoff has been convicted of misdemeanors on several other occasions. He didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.

Republicans, including the state party Chair David Hann, issued statements condemning the DFL endorsement. The chair of the House Republican Campaign Committee, Rep. Josh Heintzeman, said Hoff has a history of stalking and abusive behavior toward Franson, who appears to be Hoff’s neighbor in Alexandria.

“This man belongs nowhere near the ballot and the DFL should make clear that this behavior will not be tolerated,” Heintzeman said.

The DFL said it wants the local backing withdrawn. In the statement issued Monday afternoon, Martin said Hoff’s violent and threatening behavior doesn’t belong in the party.

“The Minnesota DFL will not spend any of our resources on behalf of Mr. Hoff,” Martin said. “We all have a responsibility, regardless of party or ideology, to reject violence in our politics. We can and should expect better from candidates for elected office.”

Local party leaders were unavailable for comment on their next steps.

The House race is not among those viewed as competitive. Franson won a seventh term in 2022 with nearly 70% of the vote.

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BALTIMORE — Twins first base coach Hank Conger was taking a trip down memory lane, reminiscing on a home run he hit way back in 2013, on Monday when first baseman Carlos Santana piped up.

He’s not the only one with a plaque out on Eutaw Street, Santana pointed out.

Nestled between the right field stands and the warehouse at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, you’ll find Eutaw Street. Since the park opened in 1992, just 122 balls have been hit out onto Eutaw Street. They’re all memorialized with a plaque shaped like a baseball featuring the player’s name, team, the date and the distance of the home run.

Conger and Santana are part of that exclusive club. So is Justin Morneau, the only player to accomplish the feat as a Twin.

“I put flowers there every year, make sure it’s a ceremony,” Conger joked. “No, but honestly, in all seriousness, after I was done playing, getting to see that, it was really cool. I get to show my daughter when she grows up, when she gets to visit out here in Baltimore and then obviously when my parents first get to see it, I think it’s going to be a really cool moment.”

Conger counts the 2-0 fastball that he hammered 412 feet out to right field on June 12, 2013 off Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel as among the top two home runs that he ever hit. His parents, he said, are itching to make the trip out to Baltimore to see the plaque.

Santana, meanwhile, has never been out to see his, because, in his words, “I hate to walk.” But he has been sent plenty of pictures.

His home run went even further, 424 feet out to right field off Orioles starter Mitch Atkins. It was a long time ago — July 17, 2011 in his second season in the majors — but he still remembers the swing.

And as long as the ballpark stands, the reminder of that swing will be out there.

“It’s one of my favorite stadiums,” Conger said. “And then that kind of puts the cherry on top.”

Twins celebrate Jackie Robinson

Byron Buxton showed up to the ballpark wearing a Negro Leagues jersey, paying homage on what is Jackie Robinson Day across Major League Baseball. Robinson broke MLB’s color barrier on April 15, 1947, and as a tribute, all teams sported his No. 42 on Monday.

Buxton also rocked custom Jackie Robinson-themed cleats featuring a picture of him sliding and his famous quote, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” It also features a copy of Robinson’s signature.

“It means a lot,” Buxton said. “Obviously, if it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be playing baseball now.”

Injury updates

Max Kepler, who is back in Minnesota, is expected to run the bases in the next day or two, weather permitting. After that, he might be sent out on a rehab assignment. Kepler was placed on the injured list with a knee contusion on April 9 after fouling a ball off the knee on Opening Day.

Reliever Jhoan Duran, who is with the Twins in Baltimore, will throw another bullpen on Tuesday. The Twins will then assess his next steps. Duran has been out with an oblique strain that he suffered in spring training.

Briefly

Chris Paddack will take the ball in the second game against the Orioles. He will be opposed by Grayson Rodriguez. … Former Twins utilityman Donovan Solano has reportedly signed a minor-league deal with the San Diego Padres.

Hoping to give some confidence to one of their top prospects this month, the Wild looked at the schedule and penciled goaltender Jesper Wallstedt in at Chicago and San Jose.

Good plan.

Wallstedt heads into his offseason on the heels of his first two NHL victories, a 4-0 win in Chicago on April 7 and a 4-2 victory at San Jose on Saturday night. Much better than his NHL debut, a 7-0 loss at Dallas on Jan. 10.

The Stars will begin the postseason with the Western Conference’s top seed and at least 111 points. The Blackhawks and Sharks won’t be in the postseason, and in fact have been two of the NHL’s worst teams this season, but so what?

Instead of brooding over getting shellacked in his first NHL game — not all his fault, by a longshot — Wallstedt now heads into the postseason 2-0 with a 1.01 goals-against average and .962 save percentage in his second and third NHL starts.

And all the confidence that comes with that.

“It was important. That’s why we scheduled it the way that we did,” Wild coach John Hynes said.

That first start wasn’t a complete washout, either. Wallstedt, 21, took a lot of lessons from that game, and used his last several weeks at AHL Iowa trying to fix what hurt him against a Stars team that had scored 293 goals through 81 games, second in the NHL.

“It definitely feels much better going into the offseason like this, knowing I actually can play at this level,” Wallstedt told reporters in San Jose. “I thought I could when I was up last time when we played in Dallas. Apparently, I wasn’t, and this time I think I showed more of what I can do — and that I can go through struggles and come back stronger from it.”

Now, the Wild’s first-round pick in the 2020 entry draft is aiming to make the NHL roster out of camp next fall.
“Hopefully next year in training camp, I’ll be even better and will have improved even more,” he said.

Barring injury, Wallstedt’s NHL season is over. Filip Gustavsson was scheduled to start Monday against the Kings in Los Angeles, and Marc-Andre Fleury is scheduled to start the season finale Thursday against Seattle at Xcel Energy Center.

“I think the more opportunities you get to play in the league, regardless of the competition, it’s good for his confidence, that he’s able to get two wins and play solid,” Hynes said. “Now, we have something to build on.”

Rooks reign

Rookie forward Liam Ohgren scored his first NHL goal, and first game-winning goal, in Saturday night’s victory at the Sharks’ SAP Center. He also had an assist, so he earned his first multi-point game, as well.

After his goal, a backhander off a rebound in the slot, teammate Zach Bogosian retrieved the puck from the net, but the rookie had shot it with such force, the veteran had to work to get it out.

With Wallstedt earning the victory in goal, and rookie defenseman Declan Chisholm scoring a goal, it was a big night for young Wild players. Rookie center Marat Khusnutdinov earned an assist, one day after scoring his first NHL goal in a 7-2 loss at Vegas.

“It’s fun to watch those guys,” veteran defenseman Jonas Brodin told reporters. “I remember when I came into the league at that age; you’re nervous at the beginning, but then you get into it. But they’ve been looking really good here the first couple of games, and I’m really impressed.”

Briefly

Freddy Gaudreau returned to the Wild on Monday after missing two games while he attended to a personal matter. Mats Zuccarello, who also missed the previous two games for the same reason, did not, and it was unclear if he would be back for the season finale. “I haven’t talked with him about that, but I would anticipate it,” Hynes said. “That’s not guaranteed, but I would anticipate he will play.”