Twins start quickly, race past Mariners, 11-1

MINNEAPOLIS — When the Twins entered their series against the Seattle Mariners this week, manager Rocco Baldelli called it a "great challenge" for their offense.

The Twins answered the bell against one of the best pitching staffs in the majors. Facing Logan Gilbert, the American League's ERA leader, the Twins blitzed him for five runs in the first inning Thursday.

Eight of the Twins' nine starters recorded a hit during an 11-1 rout at Target Field, taking three of the four games from a Mariners team that entered this week in first place in the American League West. The Twins, who posted a 5-2 record on their homestand against Seattle and Boston, have won 15 of their last 17 games.

Staked to a big lead, Pablo López was almost flawless during his 6 1/3-inning outing, permitting one run. The Mariners totaled six baserunners against him through four hits, a hit batsman and a catcher's interference.

The Twins generated nine hits and eight runs in four innings against Gilbert, who entered Thursday with a 1.69 ERA. This is the same Gilbert who surrendered 16 hits and four runs across his last five starts and 35 1/3 innings.

Four of the first five Twins batters reached base in the first inning. Max Kepler opened the scoring with a line drive through the right side of the infield for an RBI single, extending his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games.

When the Twins had Gilbert on the ropes, loading the bases with two outs, they didn't let up. Manuel Margot, who entered with a .164 batting average, pulled a splitter down the left-field line for a bases-clearing, three-run double. It was only the Twins' fourth hit with the bases loaded this season, and Carlos Santana followed with an RBI single up the middle.

The Twins sent all nine batters to the plate during their five-run first inning. In Gilbert's first seven starts this season, he allowed a combined one hit and zero runs during the first inning.

Like the Twins offense did when they beat up the last-place Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels at the start of their winning streak, the offense kept piling up hits. Ryan Jeffers lined a solo home run to left field in the second inning, his team-leading eighth homer of the season. Edouard Julien hit an RBI single in the fourth inning, a chopper that hopped over Gilbert and rolled between two diving middle infielders.

The Twins had six hits in their first 10 at-bats with a runner in scoring position. Margot drove in five runs, surpassing his season total from his first 31 games.

Kepler launched a down-the-middle fastball over the right-field wall for a solo homer in the seventh inning, marking his sixth straight game with an extra-base hit. Kepler returned from the injured list at the start of the Twins' winning streak, and he's posted a .434 batting average with 15 RBIs in 16 games.

Even Seattle's defense fell apart under the barrage of hits. Jose Miranda reached base in the seventh inning when right fielder Sam Haggerty dropped a fly ball and Miranda scored on a ground ball that third baseman Luis Urías turned into a throwing error.

Mitch Haniger opened the Seattle second inning with a double, a fly ball that dropped when center fielder Austin Martin slid into Julien, the second baseman, in shallow center field. Haniger scored on a two-out single from Luke Raley.

López struck out a season-high 10 batters, his seventh career start with a double-digit strikeout total.