Twins top Mariners 6-3 behind early boost on back-to-back HRs by Correa, Larnach

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Carlos Correa and Trevor Larnach hit consecutive home runs for Minnesota in the first inning off Seattle starter George Kirby, and the Twins hung on to beat the Mariners 6-3 and help Chris Paddack win his fourth straight start on Wednesday night.

Willi Castro went deep in the second and hit an RBI triple in the fourth that put the Twins in front by three, giving Paddack (4-1) enough fuel to extend his career-long winning streak.

The right-hander, who missed most of the previous two seasons recovering from elbow reconstruction, matched his Twins best with 10 strikeouts while pitching into the sixth. He allowed a solo homer to Mitch Garver, the only run against him. Paddack, who got 19 swings and misses, has allowed two or fewer runs in five of seven starts.

The Twins let Paddack throw a season-high 99 pitches, before Caleb Thielbar entered for the last two outs in the sixth.

Cal Raleigh, whose pinch hit grand slam sparked the rally for a 10-6 victory on Tuesday, drove a two-out, two-run double off the wall in right-center off Griffin Jax to pull the Mariners within one in the seventh.

Minnesota’s bullpen remains in flux with key setup men Brock Stewart and Justin Topa on the injured list, but Jax was able to pitch a perfect eighth to bridge the gap to Jhoan Duran for his third save in a perfect ninth inning.

Ryan Jeffers and Max Kepler hit RBI doubles in the eighth to pad the lead for Duran.

Kirby (3-3), meanwhile, surrendered three-plus homers for just the third time in 64 career starts. He gave up four runs in five innings, failing to add to Seattle’s total of 22 quality starts that’s tied for the major league lead with Philadelphia.

Kirby Snead, who was promoted from Triple-A Tacoma before the game, pitched a perfect sixth in becoming the 1,000th player to appear in a game in Mariners history.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mariners: RHP Tayler Saucedo, who hyperextended his right knee while covering first base when Austin Martin beat out an infield single on Tuesday, was placed on the 15-day injured list before the game.

Twins: Topa, who was acquired from the Mariners in the trade for 2B Jorge Polanco to take a key late-inning role in the bullpen, aggravated the patellar tendinitis in his left knee in a rehab outing on Sunday and is awaiting further medical evaluation.

UP NEXT

RHP Logan Gilbert (3-0, 1.69 ERA) starts for the Mariners in the finale of the four-game series on Thursday afternoon. RHP Pablo López (3-2, 4.30 ERA) takes the mound for the Twins.

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