Eight is enough: Twins match team homer record, cap sweep of Angels
ANAHEIM, Calif. — C.J. Cron believed in spring training that the Minnesota Twins were going to have a good offense this season. Their hitting hasn’t just been good, it has been powerful.
The Twins tied a franchise record with eight home runs and beat the Los Angeles Angels 16-7 on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep. The Twins — who also went deep eight times earlier this season at Baltimore — joined the 2005 Texas Rangers as the lone major league teams to have multiple games in a season with eight or more home runs.
“It’s all just kind of clicked, and hopefully there’s no stopping,” said Cron, who had five hits, including a home run against his former team. “When you are hitting like this, it is contagious.”
Miguel Sano and Jonathan Schoop went deep twice for Minnesota. Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario also homered.
It was the third time in franchise history — dating to their Washington Senators days — that Minnesota homered eight times.
“It’s pretty amazing. Our guys continue to go up there and not give up at-bats,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s not as if our guys go up there swinging for the fences.”
Schoop drove in four runs and Sano three as the Twins won six of seven on their road trip that began in Seattle and wound up with their first sweep in Anaheim since 1996. Minnesota (33-16), which leads the American League Central by eight games, hit 22 homers against the Mariners and Angels.
A total of 11 home runs were hit in this game, which originally was set for Wednesday but postponed due to unplayable field conditions following a pregame storm.
The eight home runs also tied the Angels’ mark for most allowed. It previously happened twice, with the most recent being 2005 against Texas.
Four of the seven hits Matt Harvey (2-4) allowed in 2 2/3 innings went over the wall as the right-hander gave up eight runs for the second time this season. Noe Ramirez and Cody Allen allowed two long balls apiece.