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 almost his entire home run trot as the Twins ended their season-opening road trip with a 7-3 victory at American Family Field.
"I know it's a big win for us," said Jeffers, chuckling that it felt that way only five games into the season. "I feel like we needed that win going home and not to lose three straight, and to get the offense clicking."
The Twins erupted for a five-run seventh inning, matching what was their highest run total in a game this year. Alex Kirilloff, who had a career-high four hits, and Byron Buxton opened the inning 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. Jeffers realized a small issue in his mechanics when he watched side-by-side video from his swing last year with hitting coach David Popkins on Monday. It was the Twins' first homer since Royce Lewis homered in the first inning on Opening Day.
"It's not a great feeling not being able to hit the ball as a team," Jeffers said. "[Kirilloff] has been phenomenal, but as a unit, we haven't been swinging it great."
BOXSCORE: Twins 7, Milwaukee 3
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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, after a safe call was overturned via replay review.
"I was surprised when I saw it," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "I wasn't really expecting that. He's up there to hit a double against a lefthanded pitcher."
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 had 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, 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.
"We've had some nice at-bats with people on base and how many times are you going to line out?" Baldelli said. "I'm not saying we've had 10 of them but I'm saying we've had a good handful of them. You can't keep doing that. At some point, some of them are going to go over the fence, some of them are going to find gaps."
It took five games, but, finally, the Twins saw their momentum change.
