The match-up for game three saw Matt Morris (18-4, 3.16) going for the Orioles against Matt Clement (12-7, 4.12) and the Twins. Morris faced a tough task against an exuberant Minnesota crowd, but the home-field advantage seemed to work against the Twins. On the first play of the game, normally sure-handed first baseman Richie Sexson booted a Brian Giles ground ball and put the lead-off man on for the Orioles. Edgar Renteria grounded out but moved Giles to second base in the process. Matt Clement got Aubrey Huff on the strikeout, but Carlos Delgado came up and crushed a HR to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.
Matt Morris started the game by recording the first two outs and then giving Scott Rolen and Richie Sexson free passes. Morris� generosity ended there as he struck out J.D. Drew to end the inning. In the bottom of the 2nd however, the Twins got to Morris when Ben Davis hit a double with one out. After a groundout by Adam Dunn that moved Davis to third base, Raffy Furcal came up and spanked a triple to score Davis. A single by Brian Roberts brought home Furcal and the game was tied after 2-2 after two innings.
Clement continued to look sharp retiring the O�s in order in the third, but gave up the lead when Aubrey Huff led off fourth inning with a solo HR. The Twins tried to answer in the bottom half of the fourth, when Furcal stroked a double with one out. This time Roberts couldn�t cash in Furcal and lined out. Facing J.D. Drew with two out in the fourth, Morris threw a wild pitch that advanced Furcal to third base, but he eventually got a ground out to end the inning with the Orioles up 3-2.
The fifth inning passed without incident, but the wheels started coming off for the Twins in the sixth inning. Edgar Renteria led off the inning with a hot shot to his counterpart at SS. Furcal mishandled the ball and the O�s had the leadoff man on with the dangerous part of the order coming up. Aubrey Huff grounded out, but advanced the runner to second with Carlos Delgado coming up. Not wanting to fall behind another run, and with two lefties coming up, the Twins went to the bullpen and called on Alan Embree to face the O�s best hitter. Delgado singled home Renteria and advanced to second on the throw to the plate. Geoff Jenkins grounded out and brought up Vinny Castilla with two out. Castilla dispatched a 2-run HR and gave the O�s a 6-2 lead.
The Twins never got more than one baserunner on in any of the late innings and Larry Walker added a third Twins error. Offensively, the O�s continued to menace the Twins, sending the Minnesota fans home disappointed at a lackluster effort. The Twins never seriously challenged Morris who seemed to get better with each pitch. Morris pitched a complete game, giving up two earned runs scattering 7 hits and 4 walks. The overused O�s bullpen got a huge break and more importantly, the O�s found themselves within a game of tying the series.