Orioles vs Twins: Minnesota Routs Baltimore 7-1 as Josh Bell's 3-Run Homer Caps Seventh-Inning Rally

On Monday, August 10, 2026, the Minnesota Twins opened a three-game homestand by routing the Baltimore Orioles 7-1 at Target Field — an Orioles vs Twins series opener that stayed close for six innings before Josh Bell’s three-run homer in the seventh sent Minnesota to a comfortable win.

Austin Martin homered in the third and doubled in the first, Ryan Jeffers drove in two runs with a seventh-inning single, and the Twins scored five times in the bottom of the seventh after Baltimore starter Dean Kremer had kept the Orioles within reach. Baltimore managed only one hit all night and did not threaten after tying the game in the fourth.

Editor’s note: This article draws on game coverage from USA TODAY, CBS Sports, and MLB.com, August 10, 2026.

Match at a glance

Detail	Information
Date	Monday, August 10, 2026
Venue	Target Field, Minneapolis, MN
Start time	7:40 p.m. ET
Series	Three-game set — Game 1
Final score	Twins 7, Orioles 1
Probable starters	Trevor Rogers (Twins) vs. Dean Kremer (Orioles)
Records entering	Twins 58-61 (3rd AL Central); Orioles 57-61 (4th AL East)

Minnesota arrived looking to rebound after a 4-3 loss in 10 innings at Milwaukee on Sunday. Baltimore carried momentum from a 10-5 win over Texas in which Pete Alonso went 3-for-3 with two home runs and four RBI.

Early innings: pitchers’ duel

Trevor Rogers and Dean Kremer traded scoreless frames through the first two innings. Minnesota threatened in the bottom of the first when Martin doubled to deep right-center and Jeffers walked, but Bell grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Kremer worked around a second-inning rally — Luke Keaschall walked, Brooks Lee singled, and the Twins left two on base — before Martin broke through in the third. Martin launched a solo homer to left-center on the first pitch he saw, giving Minnesota a 1-0 lead.

Rogers allowed only scattered contact through three, while Kremer answered with seven strikeouts over his first six innings and held the Twins to two runs on a handful of hits.

Fourth inning: Baltimore ties, Minnesota retakes lead

The Orioles finally reached Rogers in the top of the fourth. Gunnar Henderson walked, advanced on Pete Alonso’s groundout, and scored when Jackson Holliday reached on an infield single and was then caught stealing second — a unconventional run that knotted the game 1-1.

Minnesota responded immediately in the bottom half. Keaschall was hit by a pitch, Lee doubled to center, and Kaelen Culpepper lifted a sacrifice fly to left to score Keaschall and restore a 2-1 Twins lead. Kremer escaped further damage when Martin lined out to left with runners in scoring position.

Key scoring plays	Score
Martin solo HR, bot. 3rd	1-0 Twins
Henderson scored on Holliday CS play, top 4th	1-1
Culpepper sac fly, bot. 4th	2-1 Twins

Middle frames: Kremer stabilizes

Rogers exited after four innings (four hits, two earned runs, four strikeouts), and Cam Sanders delivered two scoreless relief frames to keep the Orioles at bay. Kremer matched him through the sixth, retiring the side in order in the top of the seventh and leaving Baltimore’s offense stuck at one run on one hit.

For a stretch of more than three hours, the game looked like a low-scoring pitcher’s duel between two sub-.500 clubs fighting to stay relevant in the wild-card picture.

Seventh inning: five-run burst

The bottom of the seventh unraveled Baltimore’s bullpen. Ryan Kreidler reached on an infield single, Martin followed with another infield hit, and catcher Christian Narváez threw wildly on the play — sending Kreidler to third and Martin to second.

Jeffers then singled to left, plating both Kreidler and Martin to make it 4-1. Royce Lewis walked on a full count to load the bases, and Orioles manager Brandon Hyde turned to Grant Wolfram after Rico Garcia failed to record an out.

Bell ended any doubt with one swing. On a 2-1 count, the designated hitter drove a three-run homer to left-center, scoring Jeffers and Lewis and extending the lead to 7-1. Luke Keaschall added a single before Lee flied out to end the frame.

Bottom 7th — sequence	Result
Kreidler infield single	Runner on
Martin infield single; Narváez throwing error	Runners at 2nd and 3rd
Jeffers single	4-1 Twins
Lewis walk	Bases loaded
Bell 3-run HR	7-1 Twins

Baltimore’s offense never recovered. The Orioles finished with one hit, one error, and five strikeouts against Twins pitching after the seventh-inning collapse.

Standout performances

Player	Line / moment
Josh Bell	3-run HR in 7th; 3 RBI
Austin Martin	3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI
Ryan Jeffers	1-for-3, 2 RBI, walk
Kaelen Culpepper	Sacrifice fly RBI in 4th
Brooks Lee	2-for-2 with double
Dean Kremer	6+ IP, 2 ER, 7 SO before bullpen meltdown
Cam Sanders	2.0 scoreless relief innings
Trevor Rogers	4.0 IP, 2 ER in start

Martin’s multi-hit night pushed his season batting average to .239, while Bell’s 16th home run of the year brought him to 71 RBI — a reminder of the middle-of-the-order thump Minnesota hoped for when it acquired him.

What it means for the series

Both clubs entered at 58-61 and 57-61, respectively, well back in their divisions but still within reach of the American League wild-card race with roughly two months left in the regular season. For Minnesota, the win offered a needed bounce-back after a frustrating weekend in Milwaukee. For Baltimore, the one-hit offensive showing wasted another strong Kremer outing and snapped the brief momentum from Sunday’s rout of Texas.

The series continues at Target Field with Game 2 on Tuesday night.

---

Discussion

A game that looked like a 2-1 pitcher’s duel for six innings turned into a rout in one half-inning.

1. Dean Kremer held the Twins to two runs through six innings on a night Baltimore managed only one hit. How much of Monday’s loss falls on the bullpen versus an offense that could not support him?

2. Josh Bell’s three-run homer came with the bases loaded after an error and two singles. Is this the kind of late-inning burst that can shift Minnesota’s season, or just one good night against a struggling Orioles pen?

Share whether you think either the Twins or Orioles can make a real wild-card push — and if Monday’s seventh inning felt like a turning point or a one-off.

---