Statistically speaking, things haven't been pretty for the Twins so far this season.
There's the 3-8 road record. There's the modest average of 3.29 runs scored per game. And, there's the fact that, entering Saturday night, seven Minnesota players were batting .205 or worse.
Unsightly stats, one and all.
But Minnesota began to augment its ugly numbers on Saturday in Seattle, matching a season high for runs in an 8-5 victory. Brian Dozier, Eduardo Nunez and Shane Robinson all produced a pair of hits for the Twins (7-10). Additionally, Eduardo Escobar hammered his first homer of the year -- a solo shot in the fourth -- and Joe Mauer registered two RBI.
"A good night for the team," Escobar declared afterward.
"It was a good night offensively, right from top to bottom," said Paul Molitor, Minnesota's first-year skipper. "There was a lot of contribution. . . . Tonight we got some good results offensively."
The Twins didn't just produce run-scoring hits on Saturday; they also produced timely hits. Nunez, for example, ripped a two-run base hit up the middle in the fifth, handing the visitors a 3-2 lead.
In the sixth, veteran Torii Hunter drove a breaking ball toward center field for a key, RBI double, making it 5-2 in favor of Minnesota. And, an inning later, Dozier lashed his fifth double of the year toward left field, driving in another run, handing the visitors an 8-3 advantage.
All that production at the plate helped put players' minds at ease, after Twins starting pitcher Trevor May left the game in the bottom of the fourth, largely for precautionary reasons. May was tagged around his right elbow by a comebacker off the bat of Seattle's Kyle Seager, though the 25-year-old hurler maintained his composure, picked up the ball and threw to first base for an out. According to the team, May's subsequent X-rays were negative, he currently has a right elbow contusion and is considered day-to-day.
"It's always scary when a pitcher gets hit like that," Molitor noted. "The good news is, the X-rays are negative."
Molitor said the Twins will monitor May's ailment closley over "the next couple days."
But not even May's ailment could truly dampen the Twins' spirits on this night, however, considering several players broke out of slumps. Case in point: Dozier, back in a leadoff role in the batting order for at least one night, went 2-for-4, with an RBI and a stolen base. All told, seven Twins recorded at least one hit.
"Being selective at the plate was a big key for us tonight," noted Minnesota newcomer Robinson. "Not trying to do too much, and letting the game come to us. We slowed ourselves down and got good pitches to hit."
Thus, the lowest-scoring team in the American League left Saturday night's outing feeling a bit better about things.
"We put it all together tonight," said Robinson. "It was a good win for us."
The Twins conclude their series in Seattle at 3:10 p.m. on Sunday, in a game set to be televised on FOX Sports North.
