MINNEAPOLIS — When Orioles manager Buck Showalter entrusted a one-run lead to right-hander Bud Norris on Wednesday afternoon, his team had already flirted with danger enough for one day.
Starter Ubaldo Jimenez had held the Minnesota Twins scoreless over five innings — stranding nine base runners along the way — before Norris entered the game for his second relief appearance since being demoted to the bullpen over the weekend.
The lead disappeared quickly with two swings of the bat as Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer hit back-to-back homers off Norris, two crushing blows that sent the Orioles to a 5-3 loss in front of an announced 29,289 at Target Field.
"I felt pretty bad about today," Norris said. "I don't want to let my team down and it's pretty tough to swallow."
Asked how frustrating Wednesday's game was, Norris said, "They've all been pretty frustrating as of late."
The Orioles (43-42) lost five of six games on their road trip to Chicago and Minnesota and are now nine games under .500 on the road this season (17-26). They have lost eight of their last 10 overall.
A Twins team that owns the best home record in the American League (28-15) swept the Orioles out of Minnesota for this first time since 2007, when the Twins still played at the Metrodome.
"Obviously, it's not a very good road trip, but we've got to move on and put it behind us and move forward," right fielder Chris Davis said. "I think really the last eight or nine games, we've just been pressing. We feel like it's a must-win game, but I think if we can just go out there and relax and have a little bit of fun, we'll be better off."
Trailing 5-1 in the eighth, the Orioles received back-to-back homers from Manny Machado and Davis, but the damage had already been done. In their three-game series against the Twins, the Orioles were outscored 17-8.
"We've gone through periods where we've been good offensively," Showalter said. "If you look at us versus the rest of the league, that's one thing, but we know we're better than we have been and we will again. Just hasn't been for this road trip."
Six of the Orioles' eight runs this series were by home run and they were 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position.
"Knowing that our offense is struggling to push runs across, guys are pressing a little bit when we do get runners on, kind of getting out of their rhythm at the plate," Davis said. "We've just got to slow the game down and try to go out there and enjoy it and have a little fun."
With three games remaining before the All-Star break, one of the Orioles' biggest personnel questions will be what to do with Norris, who has suffered the loss in both of his relief outings since moving to the bullpen. Norris has allowed six homers in his last three outings, one start and two relief appearances.
"He's got a good arm," Showalter said. "He pitched real well last time out in a relief role and today he just … made a mistake that a lot of our guys are making to Dozier and a lot of people in the league."
Both homers off Norris (2-9) on Wednesday came with two outs and two strikes in the sixth.
After allowing a one-out walk to No. 8 hitter Eric Fryer in the inning, Dozier sent a 1-2 fastball into the left-field stands for his 18th homer of the season. Mauer then followed by taking a 3-2 slider the opposite way into the left-center field seats for his sixth homer of the season.
"Dozier's been swinging a real hot bat," Norris said. "It was a mistake he hit. Still, I had two strikes in the count. … Unfortunately he punished the mistake I made. And then I'm learning from the bullpen stuff. … I had a good at-bat with Mauer, but the same thing with the 3-2 slider — he put a good swing on it. He's been around a long time to do that."
Norris, who made just his fifth career relief appearance in 171 major league games, said he's still adjusting to the bullpen.
"I think that's a big part of it," Norris said. "I'm trying to get comfortable. I've got to learn a few things about myself and how to make pitches quicker in a whole new role. It's going to be an adjustment period and I just want to do my part."
Reliever Chaz Roe yielded a two-run double to Eddie Rosario with two outs in the seventh to give the Twins a 5-1 lead.
Earlier, Jimenez worked his way out of trouble nearly every inning. But as he has done several times this season, the right-hander's ability to get out of jams has been the biggest difference between this year and last.
"Since the leadoff guy, it was really hard because they got on base [often]," Jimenez said. "They find a way to get on base. It doesn't matter how. They work the count a lot. It seems like I was a 3-2 count on most of the hitters and then I didn't have my breaking ball, I didn't have my split, I didn't have my slider. So we just had to keep throwing two-seamers. Two-seam and trying to get the ball down because especially today, the ball was flying a lot. Anything in the air was going to go out of the stadium."
The Twins were 0-for-10 against Jimenez with runners in scoring position.
In his first three innings Wednesday, Jimenez stranded six base runners, including four in scoring position. He loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, but struck out Torii Hunter and Rosario to end that threat.
He also stranded a runner at third in the second, striking out Dozier to end the inning, and left runners on second and third in the third, inducing infield popups from Hunter and Rosario.
Jimenez helped himself in the third when chasing Rosario's weak popup behind the mound and making an over-the-shoulder catch.
"I know he got jammed and then I saw the ball and at the same time, I looked at [second baseman Jonathan Schoop] and I was like, 'There's no chance he's going to get there. I better put my head down and then try to reach for the ball,'" Jimenez said. "It was a good play. You don't get to see that every day from a pitcher."
Over his last three starts, Jimenez has allowed just one run over 20 innings for a 0.45 ERA.