Baltimore @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 25, 2014 ) Baltimore 1, Minnesota 4

A day after both teams played doubleheaders deep into the night, the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins will try to find some energy for the opener of a three-game set in Minneapolis on Friday. The Orioles ended their twin bill at nearly 1 a.m. ET, winning the opener over Pittsburgh by a 5-1 score and picking up a 6-5 victory in the nightcap on a 10th-inning Matt Wieters homer. The Twins are 1-4 on their current homestand after a pair of losses Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Minnesota used up eight pitchers in the second game, a 4-3 win in 12 innings against the Dodgers, so the bullpen might be thin. The staff combined to walk 12 Los Angeles hitters in the 5-hour, 11-minute affair that ended well after midnight Eastern time. The teams have yet to meet in 2014, but Baltimore has won 14 of the last 21 meetings with the Twins.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Baltimore), FSN North (Minnesota)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Ubaldo Jimenez (0-4, 6.59 ERA) vs. Twins RH Ricky Nolasco (2-2, 6.67)

Jimenez made small strides in his previous start April 25 against Kansas City, allowing four runs and six hits in six innings, but he remains without a quality start and entered Thursday with the highest WHIP (1.829) among qualified starters in the American League. The 30-year-old allowed just three runs in 12 2/3 innings in two starts versus Minnesota last year. He is 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA in four career starts at Target Field.

Second to Jimenez in the WHIP category in the American League is Nolasco, who has given up 43 hits in 29 2/3 innings. Opponents have recorded at least 10 hits in three of Nolasco's five starts, including April 24 at Tampa Bay, which got to him for six runs and 10 hits in six innings. Nolasco's lone home start was far and away the best outing of his year, as he yielded a run in eight frames versus Kansas City on April 12.

WALK-OFFS

1. Nolasco is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts against Baltimore.

2. Orioles RF Nick Markakis is batting .342 during a nine-game hitting streak.

3. Twins CF Aaron Hicks left Thursday's second game with concussion-like symptoms after hitting his head on the wall trying to make a catch.

PREDICTION: Twins 6, Orioles 5