Twins outlast Orioles for 8-6 win
MINNEAPOLIS -- On a chilly Saturday night in Minneapolis, the Twins' bats were just a little bit hotter than the Baltimore Orioles' and Minnesota evened the series with an 8-6 win at Target Field.
Twins starter Vance Worley, who was 0-4 in seven starts coming in, picked up his first win. He lasted 5 1/3 innings, throwing 111 pitches and giving up five runs, 11 hits, an intentional walk and a home run.
"Worley battled," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He competed. He was up, but just kept competing. We really needed desperately for him to get us into the sixth inning."
Worley left the game with a one-run lead but got some help in the sixth.
Ryan Doumit's third home run of the season, a two-run blast into the upper deck in left field off Orioles reliever Troy Patton, gave the Twins a three-run lead that held up thanks to 1 2/3 strong innings of relief by Brian Duensing.
"Duesning was fantastic, getting some big outs for us," Gardenhire said of his one-hit performance.
Jared Burton, standing in for injured closer Glen Perkins, picked up his first save, setting down the meat of the Baltimore order in the ninth.
"That's a big part of their lineup," Gardenhire said. "(Burton) told me last night after the game that he was feeling real good; he feels like he's found his pitches. The ball is coming out of his hand real good. He told me,'I'll get the save you tomorrow night.' Fine with me. He did it."
Orioles starter Steve Johnson, who was called up from Triple A Norfolk on game day, pitched efficiently the first time through the Minnesota lineup, allowing two hits and striking out three.
But he got in trouble in the third and fourth innings, giving up six runs and five hits. Johnson left after four innings, giving up four walks (one intentional) and seven hits.
"He started off really well," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "It was a raw night. Pitches depend on feel for the ball; I just don't think he had a really good feel for the breaking ball. Stevie needs all his weapons.
"He can be a really good pitcher when that's there for him. It's a tough night to pitch, as evidenced by the number of runs scored the last two nights. But he won't use that as an excuse. He showed us what he's capable of. He just couldn't maintain it."
The Orioles pounded out 12 hits but could not get enough timely hits with runners in scoring position after a big first inning.
The Twins put up 10 hits on the board with Joe Mauer going 3 for 4 and extending his 10-game hitting streak, his second such streak of the season. He is the first player in the majors to have two double-digit hitting streaks this season.
"Mauer's pretty special," Showalter said. "We shouldn't feel like he's picking on us, he's a pretty good hitter to everybody."
Worley, who was coming off his best performance of the season, reverted to form and dug himself a deep early hole.
The Orioles, who had seven doubles against the Twins on Friday night, had two more (Manny Machado and Adam Jones) on Saturday, along with two singles, to open a 3-0 lead in the first.
Not to be outdone, the Twins had two doubles in the third (Eduardo Escobar and Mauer), and together with a Justin Morneau single, scored two runs to get back in the game.
The Orioles tacked on a run in the fourth when Matt Wieters hit a home run into the left-field seats to go up 4-2.
Brian Dozier hit a two-run double to left in the fourth to tie the score at 4. Johnson walked Mauer and Doumit, and Morneau knocked in Dozier and Mauer for 6-4 lead.
NOTES: The Orioles have the most road wins in the American League (13). ... Prior to the game, the Twins had scored 56 runs in May, which is the second most in baseball behind Tampa Bay (58). They tacked on eight more on May 11. ... Coming into the game, the Twins had 24 doubles in May, which is the most in baseball -- just ahead of three teams, including Baltimore (22). The Orioles had two more doubles on May 11 to tie the Twins, who regained the lead with three doubles of their own.
