ORIOLES QUICK WRAP

Score: Orioles 5, Twins 1

Recap: Joe Mauer hit a wind-aided two-run homer off Mike Wright in the first. Wright was charged with three runs and five hits in four innings, with one walk, three strikeouts and a wild pitch. Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard had an RBI double in the third inning. Trevor Plouffe hit a two-run homer off Odrisamer Despaigne, who worked only two-thirds of an inning, allowed two hits and walked three batters. Dylan Bundy stranded three inherited runners after replacing Despaigne and worked a scoreless sixth. Chaz Roe left the bases loaded in the seventh and Oliver Drake retired the side in order in the eighth.

Need to know: The Orioles are 5-13-4. Wright threw 76 pitches, 45 strikes in four innings. Mauer homered on a 95-mph fastball from Wright. Dariel Alvarez doubled, walked and scored a run. Caleb Joseph singled twice in his first two at-bats. Bundy walked a batter and struck out one in the sixth. Drake struck out two batters in the eighth. Manager Buck Showalter hasn't decided whether Despaigne will make a start.

On deck: Wednesday, vs. Pirates in Bradenton, 1:05 p.m.
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FORT MYERS, Fla. - Odrisamer Despaigne lasted only two-thirds of an inning today against the Twins, serving up a two-run homer to Trevor Plouffe in the fifth and loading the bases before Dylan Bundy replaced him.

Bundy stranded all three runners and tossed a scoreless sixth.

Despaigne allowed two runs and two hits, with three walks and one strikeout. The early hook came as a surprise, though the number of pitches in one inning may have led to the change.

Chaz Roe left the bases loaded in the seventh and the Orioles are down 5-1 at Hammond Stadium.

Mike Wright threw 76 pitches, 45 for strikes. He described his outing as "solid" after allowing three runs and five hits in four innings.

"My pitches felt pretty good," he said. "As a whole, that's probably the worst I've felt, but I thought I attacked pretty well. Got behind in some counts, but didn't give up anything for free. Overall, felt pretty solid.

"It's the first off-day we've had. Didn't really go throw yesterday. I thought I'd be fine. Mechanics felt just a little bit off, but I thought I settled in. In the first inning, I thought there were a couple times I was rushing to the plate, but all together I felt pretty solid today."

Joe Mauer hit a two-run homer in the first, the wind carrying the ball over the left field fence.

"Off the bat, I thought it was just a popup, but he's a big guy, he's got power," Wright said. "He's got the name on the back for a reason. He earned it. It's not just the wind. There's going to be wind at any park we play at. But off the bat I thought it was a fly ball."

Wright shut out the Twins over five innings in his last start. Is this a step back?

"No," he replied. "I gave up some runs, yes. That's the game of baseball. That's why we play. If you went five scoreless against the same team every time, we wouldn't even play the game. So I went out there and competed.

"I still threw some quality strikes. Maybe the first inning would have been clean had that ball not been wind-aided, but I've got to keep the ball on the ground."

There's still confusion here over Kevin Gausman's ability to start on April 10 if he's placed on the disabled list. The math says he's eligible if the assignment is backdated to March 25. We need a clarification from manager Buck Showalter, who seemed to indicate that he'd need someone else to take the turn.

It's a moot point, of course, if Gausman breaks camp with the team. Showalter sounded confident that it would happen.