Thursday, April 5, 2018 04:10 PM (ET)

Garver's HR lifts Twins over Mariners

Field Level Media
Apr 5, 2018
Mitch Garver hit his first career homer -- a solo shot in the bottom of the seventh -- Thursday afternoon to snap a tie and lift the Minnesota Twins to a come-from-behind 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners in the Twins' home opener at Target Field.

The Twins scored all four of their runs via the homer in improving to 4-2 this season. The Mariners are 3-3.

Garver, a 27-year-old rookie who entered the season with just 46 big league at-bats, hit an 0-2 pitch from Daniel Altavilla (0-1) beyond the left field fence. The homer made a winner out of Zach Duke (1-0), who inherited a two-on, one-out situation in the seventh but retired both batters he faced.

The Twins added an insurance run in the eighth when Eddie Rosario hit a pinch-hit homer to cap Minnesota's comeback from a 2-0 deficit.

Addison Reed tossed a perfect eighth inning. Fernando Rodney worked around a leadoff walk to Dee Gordon in the ninth to earn his first save. The 41-year-old Rodney has a save for eight big league teams.

The Twins were being blanked on two hits into the sixth by Mariners left-hander James Paxton before Joe Mauer opened the frame with a single. Miguel Sano followed with a two-run homer - the first non-solo homer of the season for Minnesota.

Sano's homer helped make up for the error he made in the first that led to the Mariners' two runs. With one out and runners on the corners, Sano misplayed a potential double play grounder by Mitch Haniger, which allowed Gordon to score. Daniel Vogelbach added a two-out RBI single.

Vogelbach and Jean Segura had two hits apiece for the Mariners.

Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson allowed the two runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out three over 4 1/3 innings. Paxton allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while whiffing seven over five-plus innings.

--Field Level Media

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