Sano homers twice as Twins pound D-Backs
MINNEAPOLIS — Miguel Sano ended a tough stretch at the plate with some might.
Sano hit two of the Twins’ season high-tying six home runs, including an inside-the-park dash by Byron Buxton, and Minnesota powered past the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-3 on Friday night.
Eduardo Escobar, Max Kepler and Brian Dozier also went deep for Minnesota. Buxton finished a single shy of the cycle.
Sano finished with three hits after going 4 for 25 in his last six games. He had no hits in his previous nine official at-bats, but walked three times.
“I know he’s been working hard, just trying to stay on the ball and recognize pitches better. He’s getting walks. I know he’s getting close. Tonight, we saw the explosion,” manager Paul
61-59 overall 63-55 overall
Molitor said.
Leading 4-3 in the seventh, Sano hit the first pitch from reliever David Hernandez 452 feet into the second deck in left-center for two runs. Escobar added a two-run shot two batters later for an 8-3 lead.
Sano hit one even further, 474 feet into the third deck, in the eighth for his first multi-homer game this season and third of his career.
Minnesota also hit six home runs May 2 against Oakland. The five homers that left the playing field went a combined 2,169 feet.
“Anytime I made a mistake with any pitch they took advantage of it,” said Arizona starter Zack Godley (5-6), who tied a career high by striking out 10, but allowed four earned runs in 5 1-3 innings.
David Peralta had three hits for Arizona, including a home run, but six home runs was the most allowed by Arizona since Sept. 9, 2013, at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“You make some mistakes to good hitters at this level you’re going to pay for it,” manager Torey Lovullo said.
No home run was more exciting than the one that didn’t clear a fence.
Down 3-2 in the fourth, Buxton hit a ball high off the wall in right-center that rolled toward center field. As A.J. Pollock gave chase, Buxton circled the bases in