"It sounds strange, but these series are tough. It gets you out of your routine," Michael Cuddyer said. "It's only been four games, but it feels like we've been on the road for two weeks."

Losing will do that, and losing is what the Twins do in the abbreviated matchups. They had two such series in 2008, and they went 1-3. Same thing in 2007, a 1-3 record. That brings their record to 3-11 over the past three seasons, pretty good evidence that the Twins play better when they get a little more familiar with their surroundings.

"We've done a lot of flying around this week," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It'll be good to go home and see if we can play better."

ORIOLES 5, TWINS 4: Glen Perkins allowed four runs in the first three innings, but the Twins rallied to tie the score with single runs in the second, third, sixth and seventh innings. Then reliever Jose Mijares got too much of the plate with a 1-2 slider to Lou Montanez in the eighth inning, and the result was a line-drive single that scored the decisive run. Minnesota piled up 14 hits, including three apiece by Joe Mauer and Delmon Young, but lost its third consecutive game.