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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Less than 24 hours after enduring a hitting
famine against Mike Mussina, the Minnesota Twins feasted on
struggling Pat Rapp.
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| Ortiz |
David Ortiz matched his career high with four RBI and Torii
Hunter had a career-high four hits as the Twins beat the Baltimore
Orioles 10-6 Wednesday to avert a three-game sweep.
Led by Hunter, who entered the game with a .190 batting average,
the Twins amassed 14 hits after being limited to one single by
Mussina in a 10-0 loss.
"The whole world would have got shut down by Mussina last
night, that's how good he was," Minnesota manager Tom Kelly said.
"You can't dwell on that. We just put that out of our mind."
Suffice to say that Rapp (6-8), who is 2-6 with an 8.24 ERA in
his last 12 starts, doesn't evoke the same fear from opposing
batters that Mussina does.
"Not really," said Hunter, laughing.
Hunter hadn't gotten a hit in the majors since May, when he was
sent to the minors after a rough start. His 4-for-5 performance
boosted his batting average 19 points.
"I wasn't getting anything to hit the past couple days. I was a
little tense and tried to do too much," he said. "I just told
myself, 'Just see the pitch today and hit it.' "
Ortiz singled in two runs in a four-run first inning and hit a
two-run double in a five-run sixth that put Minnesota up 10-4. He
went 2-for-5 and is 34-for-83 (.410) in his last 26 games.
Cristian Guzman scored three runs and Jay Canizaro had three
hits for the Twins, who improved to 7-29 against Baltimore since
the start of the 1997 season.
Melvin Mora, playing in his sixth game with Baltimore, went
3-for-3 with two walks and two RBI. Delino DeShields hit a triple
and his 30th double, walked twice and drove in two runs.
Albert Belle went 0-for-5, driving in a run but stranding eight
as Baltimore's four-game winning streak ended.
Brad Radke (8-11) gave up four runs, four walks and eight hits
in five innings, his shortest stint since June 21 at Texas.
"I was off from the first pitch," he said. "The plate looked
like it was a couple miles down. It didn't look like it was 60 feet
away."
Rapp was much worse, yielding six earned runs and nine hits in 5
2/3 innings.
"They just kept squibbing stuff past the infield," he said.
"The four-run first didn't help, but I think I rebounded after
that."
Although Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said the 33-year-old Rapp
"gave us a chance to win," there is some question as to how long
the right-hander will remain in the rotation, given Baltimore's
sudden interest in youth.
"They may want to bring in some young arms and try them out,"
Rapp said. "The last month certainly hasn't been very good for
me."
Minnesota pulled away in the sixth, scoring all five runs with
two outs. Guzman, Canizaro and Midre Cummings hit RBI singles
before Ortiz lined a bases-loaded double into the gap in
right-center.
Mora doubled in two runs in the eighth to make it 10-6.
The Twins took the lead for good in the first inning. After a
throwing error by Baltimore first baseman Chris Richard, Ortiz
singled in two runs, Corey Koskie hit a run-scoring grounder and
Hunter followed with an RBI single.
The Orioles closed to 4-3 in their half when DeShields tripled
in two runs and scored on Belle's groundout.
Guzman doubled and scored on Canizaro's single in Minnesota's
second. Belle popped out with the bases loaded in the bottom half.
An RBI single by Richard made it 5-4 in the third. Belle hit a
fly to right with two outs and two on in the fourth.
Game notes
It was the 20th time the Orioles have allowed 10 runs or
more. ... Minnesota C Dan Ardoin, obtained Monday from Oakland,
went 0-for-2 with three walks in his major league debut. ...
Trenidad Hubbard, obtained in the trade the sent B.J. Surhoff to
Atlanta, went 1-for-5 with a triple in his Baltimore debut. ... The
Orioles went 9-11 during a stretch in which they played 17 of 20
games at home.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Baltimore Clubhouse
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