Minneapolis, MN – Justin Morneau went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs and Ryan Doumit hit a two-run homer as the Minnesota Twins edged the Baltimore Orioles, 8-5, Saturday in the second test of a three-game set at Target Field.
Joe Mauer had an RBI double and scored three runs and Brian Dozier added a two-run double for the Twins, who saw starter Vance Worley (1-4) pick up his first win of the season after allowing five runs on 11 hits over 5 1/3 innings.
"It was a good night for us," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Worley battled. He competed and kept us in there. We needed him desperately to get us at least into the sixth inning."
Matt Wieters hit a solo bomb and had a sacrifice fly and Manny Machado had three hits and an RBI for the Orioles, who have lost two of three.
Steve Johnson (0-1) became the ninth different pitcher to start a game for Baltimore this season and picked up the loss, yielding six runs on seven hits and four walks over four frames.
"The fastball was fine and the changeup came in pieces, but he just couldn't quite get off-speed pitches he could keep them off-balance with," Wieters said of Johnson. "And big league hitters will eventually get on-time."
After Wieters' solo shot in the fourth extended Baltimore's advantage to 4-2, Minnesota took control in the bottom half of the frame.
Chris Parmelee reached base with a swinging bunt back to the pitcher and, following two quick outs, Eduardo Escobar drew a walk to put runners on first and second.
Dozier came through with a two-bagger into the left-field corner, plating both runners and tying the game at 4-4. Mauer was then intentionally walked for the potential of a force out, but the plan backfired when Johnson issued a walk to Doumit to load the bases. Morneau, the next batter, made him pay with a two- RBI single to left to give the Twins a 6-4 edge.
Machado's RBI single in the sixth briefly cut the visitors' deficit to one, but Doumit provided some added insurance in the sixth with a two-out, two-run shot to left-center.
Jared Burton earned his first save of the season with a perfect ninth.
Nick Markakis singled home Machado in the first to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. Adam Jones followed with a double to put runners in scoring position and Chris Davis poked a single to make it 2-0. Wieters gave the visitors a 3-0 lead with a sacrifice fly to shallow right.
The hosts grabbed two runs back in the third. Mauer doubled to right center, plating Escobar, who hit a double to lead off the frame, and Morneau's RBI single up the middle plated Mauer.
Game Notes
It was Worley's first win in 13 starts dating back to Aug. 1 of last season when he played for Philadelphia ... Baltimore optioned pitcher Alex Burnett to Triple-A Norfolk to make room on the roster for Johnson ... Mauer knocked in his 600th career RBI with his second-inning double.
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