Twins get going right away in victory over Los Angeles Angels

By the time Los Angeles Angels lefthander Yusei Kikuchi threw his 11th pitch Saturday, the Twins had four hits and a two-run lead.

“It’s any pitcher’s dream,” Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson said.

Well, at least the dream for a guy watching from the dugout. The Twins compiled 14 baserunners through the first three innings. They left the bases loaded in each inning, but Woods Richardson didn’t need much more support in a 5-1 Twins victory at Target Field.

Pitching in front of an announced crowd of 23,905, the Twins’ largest since their home opener, Woods Richardson struck out a season-high seven batters and gave up one run across 5⅓ innings.

“With all this playoff winning going around, we’ve got to win some, too,” said Woods Richardson, who attended the Wild’s home playoff victory over Vegas on Thursday. “Bring that energy back over to us, let it rub off on us a little bit.”

Kikuchi, who signed a three-year, $63 million contract last winter, recorded only six outs before he was knocked from the game. The Twins tagged him for nine hits — all singles — though they failed to turn the game into a blowout with their inability to clear the bases.

The Twins greeted Kikuchi with four consecutive singles to open the bottom of the first inning. Buxton laced a line drive single to center on an elevated changeup that was closer to the other batter’s box than the plate, showing Kikuchi didn’t even need to be around the strike zone to give up hits.

Correa and Ty France produced back-to-back RBI hits before Kikuchi recorded his first out, then Jonah Bride lined an RBI single to left field in a 32-pitch first inning. The Twins left the bases loaded when Christian Vázquez lined out to center, but it was a quick three-run lead for an offense that scored only 10 first-inning runs through its first 26 games.

“That first inning,” Bride said, “was awesome. Just hit after hit. … We wanted to get him up in the zone. There were a couple of changeups that he left up that guys just put good swings on.”

Correa added: “I think the whole lineup was in on the approach, and good things happen when everybody is on the same page.”

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Buxton manufactured a run in the second inning. He beat out a potential double-play grounder, swiped second and scored easily when Correa drilled an RBI single into left field. After the Twins loaded the bases again, Brooks Lee hit a dribbler back to the mound.

“We laid off a lot of pitches,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Kikuchi is good. He’s got really good stuff. He’s been excellent lately. Just great swings all the way around. Really hunting the right pitches in the right part of the zone. We did that.”

In the third inning, the Twins loaded the bases with no outs after a single, an error and a walk. Reliever Ryan Johnson, who replaced Kikuchi, escaped the jam by striking out Buxton and Correa before inducing a ground ball to end the inning.

BOXSCORE: Twins 5, L.A. Angels 1

MLB standings

The Twins stranded 11 runners on base through the first four innings. Finally, in the sixth, France hit a leadoff double off lefty reliever Reid Detmers, giving the Twins their first extra-base hit, and Lee hit a two-out double to right field that flew past diving right fielder Mike Trout.

“It’s a confidence-booster, for sure, and we’ve got to keep going,” Correa said. “We dug ourselves a hole at the beginning of the season where we weren’t playing great baseball.”

Woods Richardson matched his highest strikeout total in his past 29 outings with more movement on his four-seam fastball. When Jo Adell whiffed on a fastball for the final out of the second inning, Vázquez threw the ball back to Woods Richardson, who started walking back to the mound.

It took Woods Richardson a moment to realize the inning was over. Vázquez tapped his chest to take blame, but perhaps it was a sign of how well he was feeling.

Woods Richardson allowed a solo homer to Zach Neto in the third inning, a slider that was pulled over the left field wall, then he retired his next eight batters.

“He had some really good life on that [fastball],” Baldelli said. “You could see it in the swings. You could see it in the takes. You could see it in just the way they reacted to all of his other pitches, too.”