April 28 at the Twins

Opponent: Minnesota Twins
Outcome: L
Score: 2-4
Streak: L21
Record: 0-21
Rank: 7th
GB: 16.0

For the third game in a row the Orioles took the lead in the first inning but couldn't hold it.  In this game the Orioles took a 1-0 lead when an Eddie Murray groundout brought in Tito Landrum who had led off the game with a single.  The Twins went ahead in the bottom of the fourth - Kirby Puckett led off the inning with a walk and then Kent Hrbek hit a two run home run.  It was Hrbek's fourth home run in the three game series against the Orioles.  The Twins scored two more in the bottom of the sixth when a John Moses double brought in Gene Larkin and Randy Bush.  Oddly enough the hit by Moses was the only hit of the inning - Larkin had reached by being hit by a pitch and Bush was walked.  The Orioles followed this oddity up in the top of the seventh by scoring a run without getting a hit at all.  After leadoff hitter Larry Sheets walked and Carl Nichols struck out, the Twins went to their bullpen and replaced starter Allan Anderson with Mike Mason.  Mason walked the next two batters - Craig Worthington and Keith Hughes - to load the bases and then walked Tito Landrum to bring in Sheets.  The Twins went to their bullpen again and brought in Mark Portugal, their first non-alliteratively named pitcher on the day.  Portugal struck out pinch hitter Fred Lynn and then got Cal Ripken to fly out to end the inning.  Ripken would be the only one of the seven batters the Orioles sent up in the inning to put a ball into play.  That ended the scoring for the day although both teams mounted threats of varying degrees in each of their remaining at bats.

Hrbek had come into the series with the Orioles hitting .222 with no home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored in 15 games.  He went 7 for 15 in the three game series with two doubles, four home runs, six RBIs and five runs scored, raising his average to .292.

With the streak at 21 the Orioles now had the record for most consecutive losses ever by an American League team.  They were now just two losses behind the 1961 Phillies for longest losing streak in modern (since 1900) baseball history.