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Bartlett's flair leads Twins over Orioles

Apr 4, 2007 - 5:18 AM MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Jason Bartlett made Daniel Cabrera pay once again for his wildness.

Bartlett's RBI single in the seventh inning gave the Minnesota Twins a 3-2 victory over Cabrera and the Baltimore Orioles.

Bartlett's broken-bat flair scored Jason Tyner, who stole second base as a pinch runner for Rondell White, who led off the decisive frame with a walk against Cabrera (0-1).

"I was trying to dodge a bat running around third," Tyner said. "But that's how we've got to play when we face a tough pitcher like we did tonight. Runs were tough to come by."

On his stole base, Tyner tripped as he neared second and fell a few feet from the bag. But the throw from catcher Alberto Castillo was in the dirt and to the left of the bag and Tyner was able to crawl his way in safely.

"It's easy to steal when you don't fall down," Tyner said. "I got within hands reach of the base. I was proud of myself for making it that far. I was able to grab the base somewhat quickly."

Cabrera managed to finish off Kubel with a strikeout and jam Bartlett with a fastball, but the Twins' shortstop was able to safely place the ball in shallow left field for his first hit and RBI of the season.

"A guy gets a shattered bat and they picked up another run. That was the night for us. The little things didn't go our way."

Cabrera, who led the American League in walks and wild pitches last season, pitched well but his wildness cost him. The righthander yielded six hits but walked four while striking out nine.

Pat Neshek (1-0) worked a perfect seventh for the win, three relievers combined for a scoreless eighth and Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his second save.

"The guys in front of me are the best in the business," Nathan said. "They know how to get the job done. They keep me pitching three outs per game and that's the best thing for a closer."

Baltimore jumped to a 2-0 lead on Melvin Mora's first homer in the third inning off Boof Bonser and Aubrey Huff's RBI single later in the frame. But Bonser settled down from there and the Twins offense started to churn.

Minnesota got a run back in the fourth when Nick Punto scored from third on Michael Cuddyer's double-play grounder. Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada made a diving stop on the ball up the middle, keeping the Twins from doing any more damage in the inning.

But the Twins struck again in the fifth, as Torii Hunter turned a 1-2 count into a walk to lead off the inning and stole second base. Cabrera sandwiched a walk between two outs, and with Hunter on third induced a weak chopper off the bat of Luis Castillo for what should have been the third out. But the ball ricocheted off Cabrera's glove, allowing Hunter to score to tie the game.

"I lost a little bit with the light and the bat," Cabrera said. "When it came off, I lost the ball a little bit."

The Orioles had a chance to tie or take the lead in the eighth inning, as Tejada and Aubrey Huff both singled with one out. But after Jay Gibbons grounded to first to advance the runners, Kevin Millar flied out to right field against Minnesota reliever Jesse Crain to end the inning. Millar is 0-for-8 to start the season.

Bonser pitched well for the Twins, allowing two runs and three hits in six frames. He walked three and struck out six.

"Boof had his troubles early, but settled down late," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He battled and competed, didn't give in. He made enough pitches to give us a chance to win."