• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Twins hand Orioles 8th straight loss

Apr 19, 2011 - 6:17 AM Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Danny Valencia went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored and the Twins handed the Orioles their eighth straight loss, a 5-3 defeat in the opener of a four-game set.

Francisco Liriano (1-3) earned his first win of the season, lasting 6 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on five hits and five walks with two strikeouts.

"It's about controlling the game and not letting the game control you, and [Liriano] did that very well," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of his starter.

Drew Butera added two hits and three RBI to give Minnesota its second straight victory.

Chris Tillman (0-2) went 6 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits while striking out five to take the loss.

"It's frustrating right now. Nothing is going our way," Tillman said.

Butera doubled in the second to score both Michael Cuddyer and Valencia after their back-to-back singles.

The Twins added another run in the fourth when Delmon Young scored from third on a groundout by Valencia after he singled and was moved to third by a Cuddyer double.

Baltimore got within one when Adam Jones led off the seventh with a home run to left field, and Matt Wieters added another homer to center two batters later to make the score 3-2

Minnesota extended the lead in the ninth off of reliever Kevin Gregg. Young walked to start the inning and was replaced by pinch-runner Jason Repko. Repko moved to second on Valencia's bloop single and was brought home by a Butera single.

After Alexi Casilla walked to load the bases, Gregg threw a wild pitch that bounced past the catcher and allowed Valencia to take home.

Luke Scott's pinch-hit home run in the ninth with two outs made the score 5-3, but Matt Capps retired Brian Roberts to finish off the win and earn his second save.

Game Notes

Roberts went 1-for-4 to extend his hit streak to six games...Minnesota was 5-3 against the O's last season.