MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mitch Garver, Byron Buxton and Luis Arraez hit home runs to back another strong start by José Berríos, providing the Minnesota fans plenty to cheer for in their return to Target Field as the Twins beat the Seattle Mariners 10-2 on Thursday.
Berríos (2-0), who no-hit Milwaukee over six innings in his first turn, threw two more hitless innings before surrendering his first run of the season in the third. Pulled with two outs in the sixth and a comfortable lead, Berríos tipped his cap to the sellout crowd of 9,675 as he strutted off the mound.
Garver had the three-run shot that got the Twins going in their home opener, a straightaway screamer to center field that landed in the living wall of junipers for a 3-1 lead in the third inning against Mariners starter Marco Gonzales (0-1).
The Twins, whose only two losses have been 10th-inning walk-offs, wound up with a season-high 16 hits. Buxton went 3 for 5 with two more extra-base hits, Arraez drove in three runs, and Andrelton Simmons had two of the team’s six doubles.
Gonzalez, who started on opening day for the Mariners and gave up five runs in six innings to San Francisco, was awfully hittable again. He didn’t finish the fifth, allowed nine hits and was charged with seven runs to balloon his ERA to 10.45.
Ty France had two hits and José Marmolejos homered off Berríos, but the Mariners couldn’t keep up with the two-time AL Central champions.
With seating socially distanced and limited by the state to about 25% capacity, the Twins played like the place was full for their warmest home opener — 67 degrees — for a season that started on time since moving into Target Field in 2010. Last year, their first home game was on July 28, a 60-game sprint that was played with the gates closed due to the…
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