The season’s first start for Kyle Bradish lasted until his 83rd pitch, which induced a grounder and gave him back-to-back outs. Manager Craig Albernaz stepped out of the dugout and Bradish handed him the ball.

It was the top of the fifth inning.

Bradish is going to work deeper in games as spring turns to summer, and he’s going to pass along plenty of leads. Today just wasn’t one of those times.

Royce Lewis broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run homer in the fifth after a leadoff walk to Trevor Larnach. Lewis launched a sinker over the left field fence for the first earned runs allowed by the rotation, and the Twins defeated the Orioles 4-1 before an announced crowd of 26,057 at Camden Yards.

Bradish was charged with three runs total and two hits in 4 2/3 innings, with three walks and four strikeouts.

“Bradish looked good early,” Albernaz said. “Looked like when he went back out, velo was down a tick, command started going a little bit. You know, that’s kind of what we saw from the dugout. And that’s the byproduct of like coming out of spring training and getting guys fully built up like we talked about. Again, I wouldn’t say checking a box, but now he’s progressing his workload. So next outing he’ll be better and stronger lasting. But yeah, it looked like the velo ticked down a little bit.”

“I thought the stuff was just as good,” Bradish said, comparing today to his last exhibition start. “Fastball command was off again, at least with the four-seam. But overall, yeah, stuff felt good.”

Bradish didn’t surrender a hit until Byron Buxton reached on an infield single leading off the top of the fourth inning. The out call was overturned after review.

Buxton raced to second base on Luke Keaschall’s fly ball to center and to third when Adley Rutschman’s pickoff throw deflected off his helmet. Matt Wallner walked and Buxton scored on Josh Bell’s 260-foot fly ball to left.

It was Buxton’s speed that tied the game and stuck Bradish with an unearned run.

The game-time temperature of 46 degrees made it challenging for every pitcher.

“I think when it gets later on in the season, velocity will stay the same,” Bradish said. “I don’t want to make an excuse for the cold weather, but yeah, I think we’ll see the velocity stay in the mid 90s as we get moving.”

Asked again about the frigid conditions, Bradish said, “Like I said, I’m not going to make an excuse for that. The weather is what it is. It’s tough to pitch when it’s hot, it’s tough to pitch when it’s cold. Pitching is tough, but I think overall, at the end day, I execute one pitch and it’s a different ballgame.”

Twins starter Taj Bradley struck out the first two batters he faced and loaded the bases on Pete Alonso’s single and walks to Rutschman (six pitches) and Samuel Basallo (nine). Dylan Beavers struck out on a 98.3 mph fastball with the count 2-2, the 33rd pitch thrown by Bradley.

He’d feel more heat in the second and fall behind by a run.

Coby Mayo lined out to left field at 110.1 mph, but Colton Cowser doubled to center field at 103.9 mph and scored on Jeremiah Jackson’s single to left at 107.9. Taylor Ward lined to third and Gunnar Henderson struck out to limit the damage.

Albernaz made a couple of lineup changes after Opening Day. He started Jackson at second base instead of Blaze Alexander, who delivered a big insurance run Thursday with a single in the seventh inning.

Mayo drew an eight-pitch walk with one out in the fourth inning and was stranded. He chased Brooks Lee’s foul popup in the fifth and made the catch against the netting.

Bradley lasted 4 1/3 innings and struck out nine batters. He allowed three hits and walked three batters but held a 3-1 lead when he relinquished the ball. Twins manager Derek Shelton let him throw 92 pitches.

Anthony Banda entered the game, and his first pitch, a 92.1 mph sinker, nailed Henderson on the hand. Henderson glared at Banda multiple times and tossed his bat further than its usual distance after a walk. Plate umpire Brian O’Nora walked him to first base.

Henderson stole second after Alonso struck out for the second time, Rutschman walked and Basallo struck out for the second time.

Henderson ranged up the middle and made a sensational diving stop and throw to rob Ryan Jeffers and give Dietrich Enns a spotless sixth inning.

*Albernaz used pinch-hitters for the first time as manager, both in the sixth inning. He got mixed results.

With left-hander Kody Funderburk on the mound, Tyler O’Neill batted for Beavers and struck out on four pitches. Mayo also struck out, and Albernaz sent up Ryan Mountcastle to bat for Cowser.

Mountcastle, who sat for Opening Day, lined a single into center field, and pinch-runner Leody Taveras went first-to-third on Jackson’s 107.7 mph single to left. Right-hander Eric Orze walked Ward, but Henderson flied to right with the count full.

Henderson carried his bat up the first base line and slammed it to the ground.

“That’s all you can ask for,” Albernaz said. “When you’re down two in that moment, they’re bringing in a lefty, we had to make our moves and Mounty came through with the hit to get us going. Leody, great job going first to third on J.J.’s ball, getting Gunnar up. I’ll take that every single game. Our guys did a great job of hanging in there and fighting back.”

A frustrating day at the plate for Henderson included a third strikeout with a runner on base in the ninth.

The Orioles struck out 16 times, doubling their Opening Day total.

“There were some good swings, great at-bats,” Albernaz said. “It’s just, it looked like we struck out a lot of backup breaking balls. Off-speed, too, up in the zone. And those are the pitches you want to hit. It’s early in the year. I believe our guys would be on time for those and make the adjustment, but I like our at-bats up and down. We made Taj work. Taj has really good stuff on the mound. His split was firmer than what we’re accustomed to, what I’m accustomed to, but we had really good at-bats. We just couldn’t get the big hit today.”

*Anthony Nunez made his major league debut in the eighth and retired the side in order, and he did it again in the ninth. Nunez struck out Wallner on a changeup after showing him a 98.3 mph fastball earlier in the at-bat.

The other outs in the eighth came on Keaschall’s liner to left and Bell’s grounder to first, with Nunez covering the bag. This was the heart of the Twins’ order.

Albernez stayed with Nunez, and the infielder-turned-pitcher retired the side again in the ninth on a strikeout (sweeper), popup and strikeout (changeup). He threw 22 pitches, 15 for strikes.  

“That was extremely impressive,” Albernaz said. “You’re always just curious to see, you see him in spring training, you see how he pitches and you see the stuff, you see the demeanor. Now to make his debut in the stadium, the big leagues, he looked the same. The pitchability’s there, he controls his emotions. Even on the Jeffers strikeout, kind of mixing a quick pitch with the slider, that’s something wise beyond his years. That was impressive to see and watch.”

“It’s a dream come true,” said Nunez, who came to the Orioles in the Cedric Mullins deadline trade with the Mets. “I’m excited to be able to showcase that to the world and give God all the glory while I’m out there, be the best version of myself, like I said to you guys earlier. It’s just, like I said, a dream come true.”

According to the Orioles’ post-game notes, Nunez is the fifth pitcher in team history to throw at least two perfect innings in his major league debut, joining Denyi Reyes in 2022, Chad Paronto in 2001, Stacy Jones in 1991 and Ed Barnowski in 1965.

“I mean, 72 hours ago I thought I was going to be in Norfolk, so it’s definitely a big whirlwind of a couple of days and it’s just been very exciting,” Nunez said. “A lot of emotions, and just grateful.”

Nunez followed Yaramil Hiraldo, who replaced Enns in the seventh and struck out Buxton on three sliders to strand a runner. Kody Clemens had an RBI single off Dietrich.

*Ward started in left field again today while he tries to get more acclimated to the dimensions and angles.

Ward appeared to be crossed up by Buxton’s eighth-inning triple into the corner on Opening Day, anticipating a carom that didn’t come, and he spent yesterday at the ballpark with first base coach and outfield instructor Jason Bourgeois.

The team wasn’t playing, but Ward refused to rest.

“It’s definitely a big learning curve,” Albernaz said. “Even the game on Thursday, I remember looking out in the outfield and I said something to Bourgy like, ‘Man, that’s a lot of grass out in left field,’ and that’s something that Taylor knows that he has to get comfortable with.

“And to Taylor’s credit, yesterday on the off-day, he was here with J.B. getting work in in the outfield. That’s something where I call it ‘the unseen hours,’ where not many people see, but Taylor’s that type of dude where he’s gonna put the work in. Like we talk about all the time, it doesn’t happen by accident that Taylor Ward is Taylor Ward. He puts the work in. So to see him out there yesterday was cool, to get him comfortable out there. And it’s gonna be an adjustment.

“That’s something we tried to jump on where we had the workouts here and the exhibition game, but it’s still gonna take time to do it. I bet on Taylor with his ability and also his work ethic that he’ll be fine out there.”

*Here are the starters for the series against the Rangers at Camden Yards:

Monday: RHP Chris Bassitt vs. RHP Kumar Rocker
Tuesday: RHP Zach Eflin vs. RHP Jack Leiter
Wednesday: LHP Trevor Rogers vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi

*The Orioles have tallied five hits or fewer in each of the first two games of a season for the first time since 2018.