Twins use hot start to dispatch Athletics in first game of doubleheader

Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis and Carlos Santana all homered in the victory.

Minnesota Twins designated hitter Royce Lewis (23) celebrates his solo home run against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning of game one of a double header at Target Field in Minneapolis on June 16, 2024. / Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

When you have a marathon of a day ahead of you, it sure doesn't hurt to get off to a good start, and the Twins couldn't have gotten off to a much better start to their doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics on a steamy Sunday afternoon at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.

Bailey Ober pitched a 1-2-3 first inning and the Twins got back-to-back homers from Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis in the bottom of the frame, the fifth time the Twins have gone back to back this season. They were able to carry that early momentum and turn it into a 6-2 victory over the A's.

It'll be a quick turnaround before they take the field again, though they do get a little break from the heat with the second game of the doubleheader scheduled for 6:40 p.m. The Twins and Athletics are playing a doubleheader Sunday due to Saturday's scheduled game being rained out.

Manny Margot got the Twins started in the first inning with a leadoff walk, and Correa quickly brought him home with a 393-foot, two-run shot that came off a fastball from Athletics starter JP Sears. The next at-bat, Lewis swung at the first pitch he saw and carried it 380 feet into right field, giving the Twins (39-32) an early 3-0 lead, an advantage they'd hold onto for the rest of the contest.

Correa later hit another homer off Sears — a 408-foot solo shot — during the fourth inning to make it 4-0. Those were his seventh and eighth homers of the season, and Correa finished his day 3 for 5 with the two homers and three RBIs. Correa now has a whopping 22 hits in his past 10 games.

"I wouldn't want to face (Correa) right now," Ober said.

Lewis went 2 for 4 with the homer, a single, a walk and the RBI.

The Athletics (26-47) finally got to Ober in the seventh inning when Daz Cameron hit a 365-foot solo homer to left field. But that was the only run Ober would allow in his outing. He gave up six hits and walked two while fanning eight across 6 1/3 innings as he picked up the win to improve to 6-4.

Sears made it through just 4 1/3 innings after allowing the four runs off nine hits in taking the loss.

The Twins racked up 12 hits overall in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader.

After Cameron's homer cut it to 4-1 in the seventh inning, the Twins answered right back in the bottom of the frame when Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer 405 feet into center field.

Jorge Alcala relieved Ober in the seventh inning and allowed just one hit and no runs while fanning one across 1 2/3 innings. Cole Sands quickly got the first out of the ninth inning but gave up an infield single to J.D. Davis, a walk to Cameron and an RBI single to Kyle McCann that made it 6-2.

But Sands then struck out Max Schuemann before being relieved by closer Jhoan Duran, who got Abraham Toro to ground out to close out the game to the delight of the announced crowd of 33,835.

It was Duran's 11th save of the season.