SEATTLE -- Miguel Sano hit a 103.4 mph double and went 2-for-5 in his 2019 debut, C.J. Cron crushed a 453-foot homer to the second deck, Minnesota’s lineup churned out seven runs in the fourth inning and the Twins ran away to an 11-6 win over the Mariners to open a four-game series at T-Mobile Park on Thursday.

• Box score

As it has through the season’s first seven weeks, Minnesota’s lineup flashed a prowess of power, belting four home runs that totaled 1,683 feet. Using Statcast, here's a breakdown of how it happened.

Barrel barrage

The Twins had 14 batted balls with an exit velocity of 100 mph or more, tying their club record since Statcast started tracking in 2015. The only other game they’ve matched that was a 16-7 win over the Orioles on April 20.

Six of Thursday's hits were classified as barrels -- those with the optimum exit velocity and launch angle that typically yield extra-base hits -- which extended the Twins' MLB lead on the category for the season. They entered the day with 120 barrels, 15 more than the second-place Braves.

“I think it's more the kinds of hitters and the quality of hitters that we have,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “The one that I talk about is the quality of the at-bats. We don't necessarily go up there and just swing as hard as we can and hope that we hit it. I don't consider our group a bunch of sluggers. I consider our group a bunch of quality hitters that just happen to, when they hit a ball hard, have a chance to hit it over the fence.”

Cron climbs Twins’ HR leaderboard

Cron’s fourth-inning, two-run homer was among the Twins’ most notable this season for a variety of reasons. With a 114.3 mph exit velocity and 453-foot projected distance, it was Minnesota’s second hardest and second longest of the year.

"It was a really good pitch to hit,” Cron said. “It was kind of just a heater right down the middle. I was just ready to hit, be aggressive. If it was in the zone, I was ready to swing hard and try to hit it with authority. … They preach to be pretty aggressive. They want us to swing the bat, and they want us to swing with authority.”

Cron also had a 113.6 mph single in the second, marking his seventh hit of 113 mph or higher this year, tying him with the Mets’ Pete Alonso for the MLB lead.

“He's a big, strong guy. He's got a good swing,” Baldelli said of Cron, who collected four hits. “Again, he's feeling pretty good right now. The home runs are great, and he hit that ball well. But seeing him hit that ball hard the other way today, stay on the ball well, those are great signs.”

Sano shows signs of old self

Sano’s ringing double to left during the fourth narrowly dodged Domingo Santana’s glove, then rolled to the wall. Somewhat lost in the excitement of the play was how hard Sano laced it: 103.4 mph. The third baseman also hit a 95.4 mph RBI double in the eighth.

At his peak, Sano was a Statcast star. Since 2015, Sano has registered a hard-hit rate -- anything 95 mph or harder -- on 48.2 percent of his batted balls, which ranks 12th among 376 hitters with at least 500 batted balls in that stretch.

Bat speed can be a revealing indicator to health, and with Statcast, exit velocity can tangibly show that -- at least in the sample size of one game -- Sano seems to have regained his.

“I tried to make good contact, and I got two doubles,” Sano said. “I tried to put the ball more in play. I stayed with the same approach, I tried to hit the ball more to the middle, I hit a double to left field.”

Pineda shows progress

Twins starter Michael Pineda threw an economical 91 pitches over a season-high seven innings and gave up three earned runs, though they were a reflection to his most glaring struggle this season: the long ball. Each run against him came via a solo homer, as he allowed them to Mallex Smith, Ryon Healy and J.P. Crawford.

Pineda has given up 13 home runs this year, one shy of the MLB high by the Orioles' David Hess and the Angels' Trevor Cahill.

“The last couple of games, they're getting contact off me, and it's homers,” Pineda said. “I need to work a little more to try and execute more of my pitches and not give up a homer.”

Beyond the homers, the Twins point out that Pineda continued to show more polish with his command, as the club has continued to hope for. Pineda generated 16 swinging strikes, two shy of his season high completed against the Yankees two starts earlier. Pineda struck out six Mariners, three on his slider and three on his four-seam fastball.

“Mike made good pitches, and he’s buckled down pretty well when there have been guys on base. He’s also going to throw strikes when there’s no one on base,” Baldelli said. “There are going to be times when he’s going to challenge some hitters, so there might be some things like that. But for me, there’s certainly nothing I’m really thinking about in relation to that, I’m thinking about all the positives.”