Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Eduardo Escobar homered and Eduardo Nunez drove in two runs to help the Minnesota Twins to an 8-5 win over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night.
Torii Hunter stroked an RBI double and Brian Dozier added an RBI with two runs scored for Minnesota, which had lost three of its last four, including the opener of this three-game series on Friday.
Twins starter Trevor May, who was born in Longview, Washington, had his homecoming cut short after he was drilled with a grounder in the fourth inning. He allowed two runs on three hits with five strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings.
"It's always scary when your pitcher gets hit like that," Twins manager Paul Molitor said of May. "The good news is that the X-rays were negative. The right elbow is going to be sore and he will be day-to-day."
Tim Stauffer (1-0) picked up the win for two innings in relief of May.
Seattle starter James Paxton (0-2) was not helped by his fielders in the one, yielding four runs -- one earned -- on five hits with seven strikeouts in 4 2/3 frames.
Austin Jackson homered and knocked in two runs and Nelson Cruz also had a pair of RBI for the Mariners.
"We shot ourselves in the foot quite a bit tonight," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "It costed us the ball game."
Dozier reached base to lead off the game on a fielding error by third baseman Kyle Seager. After Joe Mauer drew a one-out walk, Trevor Plouffe made it to first on a fielding error and Nunez pushed Dozier across with a bases-loaded walk.
Seattle took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first. Seth Smith sent a single into right with one out and Robinson Cano followed with a walk before Cruz chased both home with a double.
Escobar tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth with his first homer of the season, then the Twins took control over the next three innings.
In the meantime, May was struck by a comebacker from Seager off his pitching elbow in the fourth. He picked the ball up and made the play for the first out but his night was cut short after talking it over with team trainers. May was later diagnosed with a right elbow contusion.
Nunez and Kurt Suzuki highlighted a two-run fifth with RBI singles to give the Twins a 4-2 lead. Hunter knocked in Dozier with a one-out double in the sixth and Mauer followed with a single that plated Hunter for a 6-2 edge. Seager's sacrifice fly helped the Mariners trim their deficit to three, but Minnesota added two more in the seventh.
Nunez led off the inning with a double off Yoervis Medina, who retired the next two batters. Shane Robinson poked a single out to center that scored Nunez before Dozier made it 8-3 with a double to center. Jackson got those runs back in the home seventh with a two-run shot to left center.
Glen Perkins, Minnesota's sixth reliever of the night, allowed one hit in the ninth and secured his fourth save of the season.
Game Notes
Paxton had gone 2-0 in four career starts against AL West teams ... Cruz has 20 RBI this season ... Minnesota went 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position and Seattle was 1-of-7.
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