MILWAUKEE – Ryan Jeffers saw the ball he lofted to left field drop just beyond the wall, and the outstretched glove of Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich, and he broke into a smile while pumping his fist as he rounded first base.
The hex was finally lifted.
Jeffers hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning Wednesday, ending the club's 41-inning homerless streak, and it was the first hit of the season for Jeffers. He maintained his smile throughout nearly his entire home run trot as the Twins ended their season-opening road trip with a 7-3 victory at American Family Field.
The Twins erupted for a five-run seventh inning, matching what was their highest run total in a game this year. Alex Kirilloff and Byron Buxton opened with back-to-back doubles. Carlos Correa hit a game-tying single to left field, with Buxton scoring from second despite briefly stopping at third base.
With two outs, Jeffers ended a seven-pitch at-bat against Brewers reliever Bryse Wilson when he connected on an elevated fastball, his first hit in 14 at-bats. It was the Twins' first homer since Royce Lewis homered in the first inning on Opening Day.
BOXSCORE: Twins 7, Milwaukee 3
The Twins had a slow start to the season offensively — a .188 batting average, one homer and 11 runs in their first four games — and they kept telling themselves it was such a small sample size. There was no need to panic.
When the Twins loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth inning Wednesday, Manuel Margot thought dropping a surprise bunt was the best option to sustain a rally. Margot pushed the bunt a little too far to third base, and he was thrown out by a split-second at first base to end the inning, an out call that was overturned via replay review.
Two pitches after Margot's surprise bunt failed, Twins starter Chris Paddack served up a solo homer to Rhys Hoskins on a changeup that hung over the middle of the plate.
Until the Twins' five-run outburst in the seventh inning, every time it looked like the Twins' offense was ready to take a step forward, they stumbled. They went hitless in their first six at-bats with a runner in scoring position. Margot entered as a pinch-hitter for Edouard Julien when the Brewers brought in lefty reliever Hoby Milner, and his bunt backfired.
The Twins scored a run in the fifth inning after Kirilloff and Buxton opened with back-to-back singles, and Correa drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Carlos Santana drove in a run with a fielder's choice ground ball, but the rally fizzled when Willi Castro lined out to right field.
During spring training, manager Rocco Baldelli spoke to hitters about finding ways to win without hitting homers early in the season. He figured opening in Kansas City, a place with a vast outfield, the colder weather and three off days in the first eight days of the season would likely zap power.
The Twins added a run in the eighth inning when Correa drew a leadoff walk — his sixth walk in 21 plate appearances — and Jeffers drove him in with a two-out single to left field.
