Twins launch three home runs, edge Kansas City 5-4 to end losing streak

In terms of wins and losses, the 2021 Twins have been a far cry from the 101-victory division champions from 2019.

But one quality the current team shares with the last version that played a full 162-game season: These Twins can still hit the ball over the fence now and then.

The Twins hit three home runs off Mike Minor to back an effective start from Jose Berrios, and Hansel Robles survived a wild play in the ninth inning in a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday to end a four-game losing streak.

Ryan Jeffers and Miguel Sano hit two-run homers that went 435 and 449 feet to left, respectively, and Kyle Garlick added a solo shot that went a mere 411 as the Twins went deep for the 16th consecutive game, matching a franchise record from two years ago, when the team hit an MLB-record 307 home runs. The Twins' 83 home runs are one behind Toronto for the AL lead, and they have 27 homers over the 16-game streak, but they are only 9-7 over this stretch.

"Every day, our lineup is one of the best in baseball," said Jeffers, who homered for the second time this week after spending May with Class AAA St. Paul following a rough April with the Twins. "Up and down the lineup, there's a lot of guys that can do damage."

They needed to do a little more damage than usual with Berrios giving up a pair of two-out, two-run hits: a tying two-run single to Whit Merrifield in the second inning and a go-ahead two-run homer to Andrew Benintendi in the fifth. But Berrios was otherwise effective, giving up six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six innings, and the Twins improved to 8-4 in games started by the two-time All-Star.

"They're going to battle against me. That's baseball," Berrios said. " We know about them, they know about me. Just go out there and compete."

After falling behind, the Twins came back in the next half-inning. Nelson Cruz — who earlier stole a base for the first time in three years, only to get thrown out at home trying to score on a single — showed off his 40-year-old legs again in the sixth inning by stretching a single to a double.

"He had good swings and he was flying on the bases today," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "You don't have to be the fastest guy to be a good, aggressive baserunner. Nellie has good instincts on the bases."

One out later, Sano hit a first-pitch slider from Minor off the Royals Hall of Fame exhibit in left field for a 5-4 Twins lead.

Berrios finished out the sixth before the bullpen took over. Tyler Duffey and Taylor Rogers pitched 1-2-3 innings to get to the ninth, but Hansel Robles opened that inning by giving up a double to Kelvin Gutierrez. It's the fifth appearance in a row Robles has put his first batter on base — and four of those batters reached on leadoff doubles.

BOXSCORE: Twins 5, Kansas City 4

Pinch runner extraordinaire Jarrod Dyson replaced Gutierrez. The next batter, Jorge Soler, hit a grounder briefly bobbled by shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who recovered for the out at first. Sano then tried to throw out Dyson at second, but that throw got away from Jorge Polanco, and Dyson scrambled to third — he was initially called out as Simmons picked up the ball and threw to Josh Donaldson, but the call was overturned on replay.

"I thought he was out," Sano said. "Donaldson, he tagged him real quick in the arm and he didn't have his whole hand on the base."

With the tying run on third, Michael A. Taylor hit an 0-2 fastball from Robles for a line drive 100.9 miles per hour … right to Simmons, who tossed the ball to Donaldson for a game-ending double play.

"We had something kind of not go our way, and then we had something go our way to finish the game," Baldelli said. "… I think we played a well-played game. The excitement at the end, kind of the cherry on top."

The Star Tribune reporter did not travel for this game. This article was written using the television broadcast and video interviews after the game.