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BALTIMORE -- Orioles rookie Joey Rickard homered for the first time Thursday and earned his first curtain call in his third major league game. Jonathan Schoop delivered a tiebreaking RBI single in seventh, and Rickard added a home run later to back up Ubaldo Jimenez's seven solid innings as the Baltimore Orioles rallied for a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins, completing a sweep of the season-opening three-game series.
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Manny Machado and Rickard hit solo homers for the Orioles, but it's the rookie who has quickly caught the attention of the Baltimore fans.
Rickard, a Rule 5 draft pick, has gone 5-for-11 in his first three games with one homer, one double, two RBIs and two runs scored -- often earning chants of "Jo-ey, Jo-ey, Jo-ey."
"It's been surreal," Rickard said. "It's hard to explain. It's been everything I imagined and more. I'm having a lot of fun right now, and I hope to keep it going."
Machado's homer began Baltimore's comeback from an early 2-0 deficit, and Jimenez settled down after a shaky start to keep the Twins close.
The right-hander allowed two runs on six hits through the first two innings plus two batters but retired 14 of the final 16 he faced and overall, and struck out nine without a walk.
"I thought he was crisp early on and wasn't getting a return for it," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "His command was good and the split was there for him. He was good."
Twins starter Phil Hughes (0-1) breezed through the first five innings and did not allow a run until Machado homered in the sixth, cutting the lead to 2-1. Hughes gave up both runs in Baltimore's two-run seventh, which gave the Orioles the lead they never lost.
"Leaving with a chance for their go-ahead run on base is not a good feeling, especially with nobody out," Hughes said. "Obviously, it was a tough series for us here."
Mark Trumbo singled to start the seventh and moved to third when J.J. Hardy singled. The rains then caused a 21-minute delay, and Trevor May replaced Hughes.
May threw a wild pitch when facing his first batter, Pedro Alvarez, letting Trumbo score the game-tying run. Alvarez struck out before Schoop singled to center and drove in Hardy with the go-ahead run.
Rickard led off the eighth with his homer and the final run.
Dylan Bundy threw a scoreless eighth before Darren O'Day closed it in the ninth and earned his first save by striking out the side. Closer Zach Britton pitched in the first two games, and manager Buck Showalter gave him a break.
Joe Mauer homered for the Twins.
Mauer gave the Twins their first lead of the series and season when he homered in the top of the first. The first baseman lined a 2-0 pitch over the wall in right center to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
Byron Buxton's RBI groundout made it 2-0 in the second. Chris Davis' fielding error at first base on John Ryan Murphy's grounder set it up, giving the Twins runners at second and third with one out.
Both teams then wasted good scoring chances after that. The Twins put runners on first and third with none out in the third, but Jimenez got out of it.
Hughes then did the same thing when the Orioles put runners on first and third with no outs in the fourth.
Buxton helped on defense in the fifth, making a leaping catch of a long fly ball from Schoop at the center-field fence, letting Hughes and the Twins keep their 2-0 lead.
The Twins capped a frustrating series by striking out 12 times and going just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
"The strikeouts were significant," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "The one thing we were able to do last year was capitalize on opportunities. Guys get up there and they are grinding -- almost too hard even though we are only three games in."
NOTES: CF Adam Jones did not start because of soreness in his ribcage area. Manager Buck Showalter wanted to give him a break for a day and hopes Jones will be out just for one day. Rookie Joey Rickard started in Jones' place, batting leadoff. ... The Orioles made a minor-league trade earlier in the day, obtaining LHP Jayson Aquino from the Cardinals for cash considerations. Aquino was optioned to Double-A Bowie. He posted a 5-11 record last year with Class A teams from the Blue Jays, Pirates and Indians. ... RHP Ervin Santana, Minnesota's opening day starter who went only two innings because of the two rain delays, will come back again to start Friday's series opener at Kansas City. ... 1B Joe Mauer's first-inning homer was the 1,700th hit of his career.
