Twins batter Mariners in 11-1 victory in series finale

Facing top-tier pitching from Seattle proved not to be a problem for Minnesota.

May 9, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins Edouard Julien (47) advances to third base / Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins had to face the best of the Seattle Mariners’ starting pitching during their four-game series at Target Field in Minneapolis. Turns out, that wasn’t a problem.

The Twins beat up on Mariners starter Logan Gilbert in an 11-1 victory Thursday afternoon at Target Field in Minneapolis in front of an announced crowd of 22,154. The Twins took three of the four games against the Mariners despite facing top-tier pitching throughout the series.

"Big-time series. It was just a big-time, collective offensive move that we made in the series," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "... It might be the best starting pitching you're going to run into all year long. It's just guy after guy who has dominant-type stuff. And we went out there and scored runs the entire series. I don't know what more I could ask for from our offense and the way they did their jobs."

Gilbert entered Thursday’s game with a 1.69 earned-run averaged and hadn’t given up more than four runs and five hits in seven previous starts this season. 

The Twins (22-15) reset those highs to nine hits and eight runs, and they chased Gilbert after four innings, making it his shortest start of the season, too. 

Minnesota plated five runs in the first inning, getting three straight singles from Trevor Larnach, Max Kepler and Jose Miranda. Kepler’s single marked the 11th straight game he’s recorded a hit, the longest hitting streak of his career. It also plated the first run of the game, scoring Edouard Julien, who had led off the inning by drawing a walk.

Later in the inning with two outs and the bases loaded, Manny Margot hit a three-RBI double to left field that scored Larnach, Miranda and Kepler. Carlos Santana brought Margot home with an RBI single to center field to give the Twins an early and commanding 5-0 lead. 

"That was great," Margot said via a translator. "We know the opposing pitcher was one of the best in the league, so getting the lead in the first inning, it was going to be good for the team."

Margot went 1 for 4 with five RBIs.

The lead was certainly good for the team, and the Mariners (20-18) weren't able to do much offensively against Twins starter Pablo Lopez, who pitched 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball, allowing just four hits while fanning 10. It’s the second straight day a Twins starter finished with double-digit strikeouts as Chris Paddack fanned 10 in a 6-3 victory over the Mariners Wednesday night. 

Lopez picked up his fourth win of the season.

"Today was all about the offense," Lopez said. "Everyone knows how good pitching for the Seattle Mariners is, and they were matched up against a tough guy today. He had been dominating, so the way they were able to put at-bats (together) and make things happen, my mindset was just like, 'How can I do my job fast to bring the boys back in the dugout as soon as possible?'

"They made it fun. They made it fun to be a part of the game today, the series, just go out there and just try to do my job, just try to do my part, and they gave me confidence. They made my job easier, so I was trying to make it easier on them somehow."

Lopez certainly did that by delivering another stellar start. The lone run he gave up came in the second inning when Mitch Haniger led off the frame with a double and was later brought home on Luke Raley's single to right field a couple at-bats later.

But Ryan Jeffers, who's been on a tear, homered in the bottom of the frame to get the run right back.

That was the only run the Mariners would push across in Thursday's series finale.

The offense continued to deliver for the Twins all game long. In the fourth inning, Julien hit an RBI single that scored Santana, who led off the frame with a single of his own. Jeffers hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Austin Martin, who was walked earlier in the fourth.

Then in the fifth inning, the Twins added another run when Miranda doubled and was brought home by Margot, who grounded out to short. In the seventh inning, Kepler hit a 411-foot solo homer to right-center field off Mariners reliever Tyson Miller. Miranda later reached on an error and scored when Margot hit a grounder to third baseman Luis Urias, but Urias' throw to first was off the mark, allowing Margot to reach and take second base. Those seventh-inning runs made it an 11-1 game.

Josh Staumont, called up from Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday, made his first appearance of the season in the ninth inning with a 10-run advantage. While he allowed one hit and walked one, Staumont also fanned three and closed out the game without allowing any damage.