Nelson Cruz smashed two home runs and Matt Shoemaker had a successful debut as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers 15-6 on Thursday afternoon.
The Twins’ rout began in the first inning when Luis Arraez scored on a throwing error by Nomar Mazara. In the second, Jorge Polanco extended the lead with an RBI single, setting the stage for Cruz to blast the game open.
After having his first pitch over the fence overturned on a replay, Cruz hit his first home run of the year on a line drive over the left-field fence to put the Twins up 6-0.
.@ncboomstick23, probably: "That one near the pole in right was foul? Ok, fine."#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/YQwB5MMVpr
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 5, 2021
Cruz sparked another five-run inning by hitting his second home run of the game in the top of the fifth. Andrelton Simmons delivered a two-RBI single and Willians Astudillo smashed a two-RBI double to give Minnesota a commanding 11-0 lead.
That advantage was good enough for Shoemaker. The right-hander carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and allowed one run over six innings to get the win in his Twins debut.
The Twins improved to 3-1 with the win and will face the Tigers in the second game of the series on Wednesday afternoon.
