Minnesota Twins power up for an eight-run inning and a 10-1 victory over Seattle Mariners

The Twins reached the halfway point in their turbulent season Thursday, one already filled with extreme highs and brutal lows, and they gave another example of it during their 10-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

After sitting through a 4-hour, 22-minute rain delay at Target Field, the offense rewarded the remaining fans with an eight-run sixth inning. Seven consecutive batters reached base, and it was the most runs the Twins have scored in an inning in more than two years.

Simeon Woods Richardson pitched five scoreless innings, giving up two hits and one walk, as the Twins salvaged a series split in their four games against Seattle. The Twins pitching staff, which owns the worst ERA (6.19) in the majors this month by almost a full run, came within one out of its second consecutive shutout.

The Twins closed the first half of the season with a 39-42 record. There was a 13-game winning streak in May. They have had four losing streaks that stretched at least four games.

“We really believe in who we got in this locker room, and who we are as a team,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “We were just playing terrible baseball. We also knew how early it was. I know it’s like, ‘Wow, we’ve been playing baseball for a while now, but we hadn’t even hit the halfway mark.’ There is still a lot of baseball to be played for us to figure it out.”

The Twins’ 39 wins are their fewest through 81 games since 2021 — they were 45-36 at this point last season — yet they sit in the thick of a mediocre group of American League wild-card hopefuls.

“Have we dug ourselves a hole? Sure,” Jeffers said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t play our way out of it and be better.”

Woods Richardson came out of the second-longest rain delay in Target Field history with more velocity, his pitches averaging 94 mph, and he struck out six batters for his highest total in his past seven outings. He didn’t permit a hit until a two-out double in the fourth inning.

Trevor Larnach opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the fifth inning against Mariners starter Emerson Hancock, and Brooks Lee, who has a hit in 23 of his past 24 games, greeted reliever Zach Pop with a solo homer to begin the sixth.

“In a lot of ways, Sim made that game for us,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “His stuff was good. He came out throwing strikes and throwing hard. He had good life on his pitches today. I think that’s obvious, but it did stand out.”

Pop lost his command in the sixth inning, and the Twins pounced. Pop walked two batters before Byron Buxton lined an RBI double down the third base line.

An error gave the Twins an extra out, and that’s when it turned into a blowout. Willi Castro hit an RBI double off the left field wall, Carlos Correa dropped a two-run single in left field and Matt Wallner followed with a two-run homer to center. The Twins batted around their lineup, and every player reached base.

The eight runs were the most the Twins have scored in an inning since a nine-run inning at Yankee Stadium on April 13, 2023, drawing a standing ovation from the devout fans who stuck through the rain delay from the announced crowd of 19,666.

BOXSCORE: Twins 10, Seattle 1

MLB standings

“When we’re going out there doing what we’re supposed to be doing, playing our game, everybody is doing their job, and we focus on what we know we can control — that’s what happens,” Buxton said.

The Twins, who are on their first two-game winning streak since winning three in a row June 2-4, remain 2½ games out of the playoff spot at the halfway point, a relevant measurement with the trade deadline a month away.

With an upcoming six-game road trip through Detroit and Miami, the Twins will attempt to find some consistency in the second half. Their staff ERA is about the same as at this point last year (4.18 in 2025, 4.19 in 2024), but they have scored 45 fewer runs.

“We’re touching the top and the bottom at times, too, but that’s why we play for six months,” Baldelli said. “We’re going to play a lot of games here, and I don’t know what we’re going to see over the next 81 games, but I’m glad to finish the first 81 with two nice wins.”