Manny Margot led Minnesota’s five-run first inning with a three-run double off Seattle ace Logan Gilbert, and the Twins cruised to an 11-1 victory over the Mariners on Thursday afternoon, winning their fifth consecutive series.
Pablo López (4-2) won his third straight start by pitching into the seventh inning and striking out a season-high 10 batters. Ryan Jeffers and Max Kepler both homered and drove in two runs, Jose Miranda scored three runs on two hits, and Margot tied his career high with five RBIs for the Twins (22-15), who won for the 15th time in 17 games.
“I don’t know what more I could ask for from our offence and the way they did their jobs,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I was sitting back for a period of time, just watching and being very impressed with the whole group.”
This battle of top American League starting pitchers did not materialize. Gilbert (3-1) issued a four-pitch leadoff walk and matched his season high of five hits allowed in only eight hitters.
The Twins capitalized on the bounces, such as when Miranda stopped his swing in the first inning and produced a slow-bouncing single up the third baseline. But there were plenty of hard-hit balls, like Jeffers’ 104 mph shot into the flower boxes over the wall in left-center field.
Gilbert failed to throw into the sixth inning for the first time in his eight outings this season. The 2018 first-round draft pick allowed eight runs, the highest since he was a rookie in 2021, on nine hits and two walks over five innings. He went from an AL-leading ERA of 1.69 to 2.94 during the game.
“What I was doing today obviously wasn’t working,” Gilbert stated.
López allowed one run on four hits and no walks in 6 1/3 innings, including a nice catch by shortstop Willi Castro on a line ball that first glanced off third baseman Miranda’s glove.
The Twins’ stars were at the plate, averaging 6.6 runs and 10.1 hits during their 17-game winning streak. Kepler set a career high with an 11-game hitting streak and is currently batting.434 with three home runs and 14 RBIs in 16 games after returning from the injured list. Jeffers, who entered the game with the AL’s third-best OPS, went deep for the eighth time this season.
With Royce Lewis and Byron Buxton injured, the Twins have found their rhythm, demonstrating their depth.
“There’s no way to have sustained success in this game if there’s only a portion of the lineup that’s producing,” Baldelli stated.
The Mariners struck out 53 times at Target Field this week, setting a Twins record for a four-game series. Cal Raleigh, who hit a grand slam on Tuesday and a two-run double on Wednesday, struck out in all three of his at-bats against López.
Julio Rodriguez, the 2022 American League Rookie of the Year and two-time All-Star, is batting.212 in his previous 12 games, with one extra-base hit and one RBI.
“There’s only a couple guys that would tell you that they’re really happy with how things have gone for them this year,” right fielder Mitch Haniger stated. “We need to pick it up.”
UP NEXT
Bryan Woo, the Mariners’ right-handed pitcher, will return from the injured list and start Friday night against Oakland in the first of a three-game series. The A’s pitching staff included RHP Paul Blackburn (3-1, 3.00 ERA).
Twins RHP Joe Ryan (1-2, 3.54 ERA) will start the first of a three-game series at Toronto on Friday night. Yusei Kikuchi (2-2, 2.72 ERA) will start for the Blue Jays.
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