Twins 4, Orioles 3
BALTIMORE -- Pedro Hernandez provided a boost as an emergency starter and Aaron Hicks snapped an 0-for-13 drought with a go-ahead single in the seventh, leading the Twins to a 4-3 victory over the Orioles on Sunday.
The Twins also beat the Orioles 3-2 on Saturday and won their first series in Baltimore since taking three of four games in July 2010.
Hernandez was activated Sunday after right-hander Cole De Vries was placed on the 15-day DL with a right forearm strain and was solid under the circumstances. Hernandez allowed three runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks over five innings.
Lefty Glenn Perkins picked up his second consecutive save for the Twins.
The Orioles' Jason Hammel was not as sharp as his season-opening victory over the Rays, but he kept the Orioles in the game. He gave up four runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks over 6 2/3 innings for a no-decision.
Orioles center fielder Adam Jones had his fourth consecutive multihit game by going 2-for-4 with a double. Shortstop J.J. Hardy hit his second homer of the season. Nick Markakis also picked up two hits and was 8-for-13 in the series.
Twins' first baseman Justin Morneau continued to break out of his early RBI slump by knocking in two more runs.
Trailing 3-2 in the seventh, the Twins tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Chris Parmelee and then took their first lead on an RBI single by Hicks, who now has two Major League hits and RBIs.
The Orioles threatened again in the seventh with runners on first and second, but Twins left-handed reliever Brian Duensing got Chris Davis to ground out to second to end the inning. Baltimore never threatened again and now head to Boston for a three-game series beginning Monday.
Hernandez was making just his second Major League start and first for the Twins. He gave up a two-run homer to J.J. Hardy and an RBI-single to Nick Markakis in the second inning as the Orioles jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
Staked with the early lead, Hammel promptly loaded the bases in the third after he walked two and hit Josh Willingham.
It appeared he would get out of the inning when Morneau popped up to center field, but the ball fell between Jones and Nolan Reimold, allowing Joe Mauer and Pedro Florimon to score.
Notes: The Twins optioned left-handed reliever Tyler Robertson to Triple-A Rochester and reinstated righty Anthony Swarzak from the 15-day disabled list. ... Robertson allowed a go-ahead grand slam to Chris Davis in the first game of the series. ... Morneau tied Torii Hunter on the Twins' all-time list for doubles with 259. ... The Twins got a break when Orioles catcher Matt Wieters got the day off after throwing out both Aaron Hicks and Eduardo Escobar trying to steal Saturday, prompting manager Ron Gardenhire to jokingly say, "We're never, ever running again here in Baltimore." ... Orioles' designated hitter Steve Pearce, second baseman Alexi Casilla and catcher Taylor Teagarden each made their first starts of the season. ... Orioles third baseman Wilson Betemit was back in Baltimore to see team doctors after exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his injured right knee showed no further damage. "The news we got back was as good as we could expect," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. Betemit plans to return to Sarasota, Fla., on Wednesday to continue his rehab and could miss six to eight weeks with the ligament tear. ... Canadian singer/songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen threw out the first pitch.
