MINNEAPOLIS _ First, Byron Buxton floated a single to right. Miguel Sano sent a laser in that direction, too. And Max Kepler followed with a shot to left-center.
They were all opposite field hits. Hitting coaches remind their players that they can make a good living going in that direction, and the Twins used that approach to ignite a big third inning that helped them topple the Orioles 6-4 at Target Field.
The Twins have won three of four games since returning from a disappointing road trip. They have won all four games with the Orioles this season, and five in a row going back to last season.
Four of the Twins' first five hits were to the opposite field. Three came during a six-run third to bring the Twins back from a 2-0 deficit. And it made things easier for an occasionally erratic Jose Berrios, who improved to 8-2.
Berrios had served up a two-run homer to Mark Trumbo in the first, a ball that just kept carrying until it cleared the center field wall. But the offense picked Berrios up in the third inning.
Jason Castro was hit by a Dylan Bundy pitch to start the inning, then Buxton lifted a single just over second baseman Jonathan Schoop to put two men on.
Robbie Grossman reached on a fielder's choice when first baseman Trey Mancini fielded his grounder but threw too late to second in an attempt to force out the fleet Buxton. That loaded the bases for Sano, who rocketed a single to right to score Castro.
Kepler followed with his single to left-center to drive in Buxton and Grossman for a 3-2 Twins lead. Five of the Twins' first seven hits were to the opposite field.
Joe Mauer had to be proud. The first baseman was out of the lineup for a second consecutive night because of lower back soreness but watched his teammates live his life as they went the other way.
Eduardo Escobar broke the run by pulling the ball nearly over the fence. His two-run triple to right made it 5-2. Escobar later scored on a fielder's choice. The six runs in the third gives the Twins 55 in that inning this season, their second-highest-scoring inning so far. And it helped knock back an Orioles team that fell to 0-4 on their current road trip and 15-29 overall away from Camden Yards.
Berrios wasn't sharp, missing the plate by a large margin a few times. He even plunked Adam Jones squarely in the back in the third to load the bases with two outs. He got Trumbo to ground out to end that inning. Berrios didn't walk a batter. He threw first-pitch strikes to only 13 of the 27 batters he faced.
In six innings, Berrios gave up four runs, three earned, on seven hits with four strikeouts. He needed 101 pitches to go six innings, and only 60 of them were strikes.
But Berrios won the battle of talented young left-handers, as Bundy (8-8) never recovered from the six-run third.
Tyler Duffey replaced Berrios in the seventh, getting two quick outs before giving up singles to Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones and walking Trumbo. That brought pitching coach Neil Allen out of the dugout as Trey Mancini, already with two doubles in the game, dug in at the plate.
Duffey got Mancini to ground out to end the threat.
