BALTIMORE -- Orioles first baseman Chris Davis didn't make history with his bat Saturday night, instead picking up a key, late error that led to the club's 6-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Davis couldn't handle a one-out grounder by Aaron Hicks in the top of the ninth, punching his fist into his mitt as the ball squirted into right.

Three batters later, Justin Morneau laced a two-out single against Jim Johnson (0-1) to break a 5-5 tie.

Minnesota's closer Glen Perkins picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth, setting up a rubber match Sunday at Camden Yards.

The Orioles (3-2) have now scored five or more runs in each of their games this season. This one, though, wasn't exactly filled with offensive firepower. The Orioles scored on a 25-foot squibber, an error, a broken-bat blooper and a two-run single up the middle.

Davis, who was one of four players in baseball history to start a season by homering in four straight games, couldn't enter the record books alone with a fifth longball. But he added to his major league leading RBI total of 17 with a blooper in the third against Minnesota right-hander Vance Worley.

By driving in a run Sunday, Davis can tie the club record for most games with an RBI to start the season.

Davis' third-inning single was one of three times on Saturday that Manny Machado scored. The third baseman also made several tremendous defensive plays, which is becoming a nightly occurrence at Camden Yards.

Adam Jones, who had two more hits and is batting .522, drove home Machado and Nate McLouth in the fifth to tie the game at 5-5.

Jones also had a RBI single in the first in one of the more bizarre plays of the young season. With Machado at third and Nick Markakis � who had four of the club's 11 hits Saturday � at second, Jones tapped a slow roller about a third of the way down the third base line.

As Machado raced home, Worley picked the ball up and tried to get Jones out at first, throwing wildly and allowing Markakis to charge home from second base on the error.

The announced crowd of 40,704 rose to its feet as Jones' accidental hit gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead.

The offense bailed out right-hander Chris Tillman, who came off the disabled list Saturday to start against the Twins (2-2).

Bothered by abdomen soreness, Tillman hadn't faced major leaguer hitters since a Grapefruit League game on March 3. His last outing was against the State College of Florida on March 29. Earlier this week, Tillman said he had no pain at all in the abdomen, and said he just wanted to get back against real competition.

It wasn't what he had been hoping for: five runs allowed in just 3 2/3 innings pitched. He permitted five or more earned runs only once in 15 starts last season, when he was 9-3 with a 2.93 ERA.

Tillman's evening started out perfectly Saturday evening. He threw just 13 pitches in the first, striking out two including former batting champ Joe Mauer.

By the second, though, Tillman's command began to abandon him. He had to throw 27 pitches in that inning, twice loading the bases but allowing just one run on a sacrifice fly.

Things unraveled in the third when Tillman allowed four runs, two coming off Chris Parmalee's first homer of the season. Parmalee's blast one-hopped the flag court fencing above the right field scoreboard.

He was lifted with two outs in the fourth after throwing an inefficient 93 pitches, and only 55 for strikes.

The Orioles received an impressive pitching performance on Saturday that lasted nearly as long as Tillman's.

T.J. McFarland, a 23-year-old lefty that the Orioles selected from the Cleveland Indians in the Rule 5 draft this winter, made his big league debut in relief of Tillman.

And it was one to remember.

McFarland, who must stay on the Orioles' 25-man roster all season or be offered back to the Indians at half the purchase price, pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit and struck out five batters.

He entered the game in the fourth with two on and two out, and induced Morneau to fly out.

That set the tone for McFarland, who handed off to relievers Darren O'Day and Johnson.

• Read more articles by DAN CONNOLLY

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