Lopez (15-10) took the loss Friday as the Twins were downed 7-2 by the Orioles, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out eight. The right-hander pitched well, tossing 69 of 111 pitches for strikes in a must-win game for Minnesota, but Lopez served up a two-run homer to Ryan O’Hearn in the second inning, and his offense and bullpen couldn’t rise to the occasion. Lopez did what he could to bolster the Twins’ postseason hopes down the stretch, posting a 2.93 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 56:13 K:BB in 61.1 innings since the beginning of August, but to no avail. The 28-year-old will head into 2025 as one of the foundation pieces for the team’s rotation, on a contract that still has three years and $64.5 million left on it.