MINNEAPOLIS _ The Twins entered Friday having played only 11 games against AL Central opponents. That will change over the next several weeks.
Friday night, they faced the White Sox for the first time this season. And Chicago saw up close what many opponents already have: That the Twins will batter bad pitching.
The Twins scored in each of the first five innings Friday and defeated Chicago, 11-4, in the opener of a three-game series at Target Field.
The Twins (34-16) fell behind 4-1 in the second inning because of a combination of poor defense and shaky pitching by Jose Berrios, then stormed back behind their powerful offense.
The Twins scored twice in the second inning, twice in the third and then three times in the fourth as they knocked Chicago starter Reynaldo Lopez from the game. The Touch 'em All Twins slugged three home runs during that period, on long balls from Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano and Max Kepler.
Those were the Twins' 99th, 100th and 101st home runs of the season. Sano's blast in the third, which broke a 4-4 tie at the time, was the 100th homer of the year, enabling the Twins to join the 1999 Seattle Mariners as the only teams in major league history to hit 100 home runs in the first 50 games of the season; those Mariners hit 102 through 50 games and finished the season with 244.
Given the status of the AL Central, the Twins could sharpen their long-ball skills even more. Friday's game was the first of a stretch in which the Twins face division opponents in 19 of their next 34 games. The pace picks up even more in June, when 16 of 27 games are within the AL Central.
Given the result Friday, the Twins could make it a fun summer in the Central.
Rosario opened the scoring in the first with a two-out single to right, scoring Kepler. Chicago (23-27) came back with four runs in the second. Jorge Polanco airmailed a throw to first for an error, the Tim Anderson doubled to right on a ball Marwin Gonzalez could have tracked down. Berrios struggled as well. He gave up three hits and hit a batter in that inning as he fought to find his good changeup. After the inning, Berrios, Johnson and interpreter Elvis Martinez met for a lengthy discussion.
The Twins scored twice in the second to get within 4-3. Rosario and Sano each homered in the third as the Twins took a 5-4 lead.
Kepler hit a two out blast to right in the fourth, as the Twins scored three runs with two outs to take a 8-4 lead. Kepler added a two-run single in the fifth, putting the Twins ahead 10-4.
The Twins added a run in the seventh when White Sox right fielder Ryan Cordell misplayed a liner for an error. Jason Castro scored to make it 11-4. That run was the Twins' 300th run of season; the 1992 Twins held the team's old 50-game record at 273.
Berrios (7-2) lasted 6 2/3 innings, with only one of the four runs against him earned. Trevor May recorded the final out of the seventh inning, and newly recalled Zack Littell impressed in his season debut by retiring Chicago's final six batters in order, on only 25 pitches.
