Bombs Away in Minneapolis: O's Three-Homer Night Sinks Twins 5-2

The Baltimore Orioles brought the thunder to Target Field on Tuesday night, launching three homers en route to a 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Pete Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand each had three hits and a dinger, turning a tight wild-card race into a loud statement.

Brandon Young (9-3) wasn't flawless — he gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits over six innings — but he was good enough. The bullpen locked it down: Josh Walker and Yennier Cano each tossed a scoreless frame, and Andrew Kittredge slammed the door in the ninth for his sixth save.

Wild-Card Wars

Both teams are scrapping for playoff positioning — the Orioles sit at 58-62, the Twins at 59-62. Baltimore's big deadline move sent Dean Kremer to Minnesota, and wouldn't you know it, Kremer beat his old team in Monday's opener. Tuesday was payback.

Bailey Ober (7-3) took the loss, coughing up five runs on eight hits over six innings. He hadn't lost since May 30, but Baltimore's bats were relentless.

The Long Ball Show

Alonso kicked things off with a two-run laser in the first — his 26th of the year. Henderson followed with a two-run blast in the second, staking the O's to a 4-0 lead before the Twins knew what hit them.

Minnesota loaded the bases with nobody out in the second but managed just one run on Alan Roden's groundout. Then Encarnacion-Strand answered back, crushing a 460-foot moonshot to the second deck in left-center — the longest homer by any Oriole this season. Brooks Lee's RBI double made it 5-2, but that's as close as it got.

Scary Moment

Orioles catcher Yohel Pozo exited in the third inning in obvious pain after being struck on the back of his left hand by Josh Bell's bat on a catcher's interference call. No word yet on the severity, but that's a tough break for Baltimore.

The series rubber match is set for Wednesday: Shane Baz (4-11, 3.76) vs. Zebby Matthews (5-8, 5.23). Something's got to give.