Nelson Cruz supplied the power and Ehire Adrianza supplied the hustle and the spark in the decisive six-run sixth as the Minnesota Twins topped the Seattle Mariners 10-5 on Thursday.
Cruz, who played for the Mariners from 2015-18 before signing with the Twins as a free agent, had three RBIs on a solo homer and a two-run single, the latter in the big sixth inning.
Cruz and Adrianza each had three hits, with Adrianza keying the big rally, delivering a hit-and-run single and eventually dashing home on a ground ball against a drawn-in infield.
Twins starter Michael Pineda, facing the team that signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2005, limited Seattle to two hits in 5 2/3 innings and left the game with two on and a 1-0 lead.
Seattle’s Daniel Vogelbach, coming off a career-high four-hit game on Wednesday, singled against Twins reliever Ryne Harper to tie it, the run charged to Pineda.
Harper (2-0), a 30-year-old rookie who pitched into the seventh, was the beneficiary of the Twins’ rally.
