Wrapping up a 5-3 win

MINNEAPOLIS - The Orioles' bus headed back to the team hotel last night following the postponement. Manager Buck Showalter and bench coach John Russell, staying back to finish up some work, heard a thumping noise down in the batting cage. The place was supposed to be empty.

Center fielder Adam Jones, still engulfed in a nasty slump, was doing some extra hitting. If he was going to fail, it wouldn't be due to a lack of effort.

Jones was 3-for-27 tonight before hitting a 443-foot home run in the fifth inning, only his second this season and the first since April 16 in Texas. He went back-to-back with Manny Machado to break a 1-1 tie.

Needed to untie another knot in the score, Jones delivered a two-out, two-run single to left field in the top of the ninth, and the Orioles defeated the Twins 5-3.

Jones had registered his first three-RBI game of the season. He had only nine heading into the night.

His average dipped to .196 before the home run and single, leaving it at .210 heading into Wednesday afternoon's series finale.

Joey Rickard started the rally with a two-out double off Twins reliever Kevin Jepsen. Manny Machado, who homered and singled twice, was walked intentionally to bring up Jones.

The hit enabled the Orioles to move seven games above .500 for the second time this season. Darren O'Day retired the side in order in the eighth to get the win and Zach Britton retired the side in order in the ninth for his eighth save.

Kevin Gausman allowed three runs and five hits in six innings, with two walks and nine strikeouts. Trevor Plouffe's two-run homer in the sixth tied the score, but it didn't define Gausman's start.

Gausman registered his third consecutive quality start, a stark contrast to last year's outing here, when he surrendered seven earned runs (eight total) and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings

Jones deflected the credit afterward.

"Our pitching staff made it. They're the ones. We were following their lead," he said.

"Gausman went out there and battled his tail off and (Brach) Brach, O'Day and Britton. It's not about me, man. It's about this team. It's about winning collectively and however you do it is however you do it."

Here's more from Jones:

On Rickard's at-bat: "It was huge. He battled. He was down 0-2. He had some hecklers screaming some very disrespectful obscenities that shouldn't take place in baseball. I'm sure he heard it and he battled his tail off and we were able to shut them up."

On his home run: "Another run for the team. Go out and support your pitcher. The game continues to go and continues to go. You can't get caught up on every single thing that happens. Good swing and was finally able to help the team. Now do it tomorrow."

On whether it's been a difficult last few weeks for him: "We've been playing good baseball as a team. As long as we keep winning, it really doesn't matter how it goes. As long as the team wins, that's the main objective, that's the main goal. I'm a team guy. I'm not an 'I, I, I' type of person. I'm just for the team."

Showalter on Jones: "He wants to be as good as he's capable of. And that's a feel-good. He's got a great way about him. Not taking himself too seriously. But you know it's kind of been grinding on him and he really cares. I've said many times we're not going to have everybody clicking. Adam and Chris (Davis), they get to a point where they get real quiet and real get evenish, so to speak."

Showalter on having Jones and Davis hit back-to-back: "I thought about separating them. John and I keep talking about it, but Trum (Mark Trumbo) is doing so well in that (same) hole, I hate to move him around. And I'm trusting the track record of those two guys. Tonight we got a return for it."

Showalter on Gausman: "I've said many times, the biggest thing they don't control is the Ws and Ls. If you continually pitch well, the odds are in your favor. He was really good. Unfortunately, he made a couple of mistakes, and at this level, they're going to make you pay for it."

Showalter on Jones' home run: "As good as Manny's swinging, when you get a little ooh and ahh out of Manny, that's a lot of frustration out in one swing pent up, I'll tell you that. I thought the most impressive at-bat of the night was Joey, moving up to second and third, putting the bounced breaking ball in as a possibility really, I thought opened up some things for Adam's at-bat."

Showalter on Brach, who was hit on the right thigh by a comebacker: "We'll see. He got that flush. I was telling him after the inning, you realize that didn't go very far from you. It didn't feel as bad as it looked. I was talking to him after the game, and some of the adrenaline wears off, he might find himself a little sorer than he thinks. That was a pretty good one. One of our players said, 'You've got to work at it to get Brachie's leg.'"

Gausman on his start: "Obviously, I was upset after the home run. Anytime you're cruising and your last inning one of the worst pitches you threw all day gets hit out of the park to tie the ballgame, it's definitely frustrating. But after just kind of sitting in here, it's a quality start. And as a starting pitcher, that's really your main focus. In the back of my head I always try to think go nine innings, but to give your team a chance to win, a quality start is really all you need to do."

Gausman on whether all of his pitches were working: "Yeah. I felt really good with everything. Left some curveballs up early in the game, but as the game went on, my stuff got better and I think I got more comfortable. This is only my second start here and last year's wasn't very pretty, so any time you get in trouble in the first inning and you kind of have a history in this ballpark, it's tough to put it behind you. But more than anything, that's what I'm proud of, being able to go back out there and throw strikes. I walked two guys but I was around the plate the whole game. Just tried to be more efficient."

Gausman on Jones' hit: "Yeah, that was huge. I was sitting in there watching it. That's the thing. Jonesy's a veteran player and that's the type of thing that's going to get him going, too. Obviously, the home run he hit, too, that was pretty far. But I think more than anything was the hit later in the game. I think that's something that really gets a guy's confidence up. We all know the type of player he can be. It's just a matter of when he's going to start getting it going."