Scoring early, then often: Offensive barrage features five runs in first, a shaky middle, a seven-run eighth

In a game the Twins won 17-9 over the Colorado Rockies, producing their highest run total of the season and their most hits in a game in seven seasons, they needed an eighth-inning rally to clinch the victory.

Twins closer Jhoan Duran pitched in the eighth inning, entering with the bases loaded and the tying run at first base. Duran escaped the jam with a double play and a flyout to preserve a two-run lead. The response from the Twins offense: Eight straight batters reached base in a seven-run eighth inning.

"What a performance by the offense -- [24] hits," Twins starting pitcher Pablo L³pez said. "Pitching wasn't as dominant as we want it to be, but days like today, you need an offense like that to remind you we're a team. They're going to pick us up."

Rain started falling at Target Field in the seventh inning, causing a 37-minute delay. A flood of Twins hits came earlier.

They clobbered Rockies lefthanded starter Austin Gomber into his worst start of the season, beginning with a five-run first inning. Eight Twins players recorded multiple hits. Carlos Correa had the first five-hit game in his 10-year career, and Christian V¡zquez called him Ichiro afterward.

The hardest-hit ball? A Manuel Margot double that left his bat at 111 mph.

The longest hit? A 430-foot solo homer from Willi Castro to lead off the fourth inning.

The hit that prompted a player to do the Griddy? Royce Lewis clubbed a two-run homer to the second deck in left field in the sixth inning, his fifth homer in nine games, then danced in the dugout.

"Honestly, I feel like at this point, it's just who I am," said Lewis, who has 22 homers in 79 career games. "I just play the game. I have fun and I do what I do. Now it's just a matter for me -- and this is what all the teammates and staff here are telling me -- 'This is what you do. We need you healthy.' "

The Twins had a six-run lead after six innings, but it was a rough day for the Twins bullpen. Steven Okert allowed two runs in the seventh inning before the rain delay. Caleb Thielbar didn't record an out after facing four batters during Colorado's three-run eighth inning, which included an error from Correa.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, when the Rockies had momentum, the Twins were relentless. Jose Miranda bashed a two-run double off the right-field wall. The next four batters reached on three singles and a walk before V¡zquez laced a two-run double to left field.

The eighth-inning rally, which matched the most runs the Twins have scored in an inning this season, started when Correa poked a one-out single to right field, pumping his fist as he ran up the first base line and then pointing at teammates in the dugout once he reached first base.

"I was telling the guys I've never had a five-hit game during the delay, and they were all rooting for me to get it," Correa said. "It was pretty cool."

Said Lewis, who had three hits behind Correa: "I love when he's using the middle of the field. That's very special to watch. He's honestly setting the table for the rest of our lineup."

The Twins' 24 hits were the most allowed by the Rockies in a road game in franchise history. It all started with a bunt single from Margot. Byron Buxton drove in the Twins' first run, after they loaded the bases with no outs, with a line drive to left field, after Gomber started him in a 0-2 count. Next up was Carlos Santana, who fell into a 0-2 count and bashed a curveball to the wall in right-center field for a three-run double.

Santana scored five pitches later when Kyle Farmer -- yet another batter who started in an 0-2 count -- lined an RBI single to center field in a five-run, six-hit outburst. Gomber, who entered with a 3.38 ERA, hadn't given up more than four runs in any of his previous 13 starts.

"Let's do it again tomorrow," Lewis said. "I want 28. Let's beat the [team] record. We had a great day today. That was fun."

CREDIT:BOBBY NIGHTENGALE; STAFF WRITER