MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins clubbed a season-high seven homers to back another strong outing by Kyle Gibson in a 16-0 win over the Padres on Tuesday night at Target Field. Minnesota increased its lead for the second American League Wild Card spot to two games over the Angels.
James Dozier, Jorge Polanco, Jason Castro (twice), Eddie Rosario, Eduardo Escobar, and Kennys Vargas all went deep in the lopsided affair. The Twins, whose seven homers set a Target Field record, became the first team in Major League history to hit a homer in each of the first seven innings. They are the first team to homer in seven consecutive frames in a game since the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 4, 1999, according to Elias Sports.
"Tonight was everything you could ask for to start a homestand," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We got a solid start, Gibby keeps his roll going and then up and down the lineup, Brian kind of set the tone. He doesn't go oppo too often, but he got us going when he smoked that ball. We just kept getting big hits."
• Wild Card standings
Gibson (10-10) scattered four hits over six scoreless innings to earn his fourth win over his last five starts. The right-hander has allowed two or fewer runs in each of those last five outings, which has lowered his ERA to 4.97.

San Diego left-hander Travis Wood (3-6) took the loss, allowing a trio of homers. He gave up a career-high nine runs on nine hits over 2 1/3 innings. Over his last two outings, Wood has allowed 16 runs over 4 1/3 innings. The Padres' seven home runs allowed matched a franchise record.
"It's just one of those days it's very, very ugly for us," Padres manager Andy Green said.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Dozier's dinger: Dozier started the offensive eruption with a leadoff homer off Wood. According to Statcast™, the ball left the bat at 99 mph and went an estimated 368 feet. It was his 30th homer of the season, as he became the fifth Twins player to hit 30 home runs in consecutive seasons. It was also Dozier's eighth leadoff homer of the year, and 27th of his career.
"After last year, people asked if that's it, 42, so for him to bounce back and hit 30, his steadiness is there," Molitor said. "He's going to have a chance to post 100 runs from the leadoff spot. You just can't ask for much more." More >

Six-pack: The Twins quickly broke the game open, as they struck for six runs in the bottom of the second. They strung together four consecutive one-out singles off Wood, including RBI hits by Castro and Ehire Adrianza. Joe Mauer delivered a two-run single and Polanco capped the outburst with a two-run homer. Polanco's 11th home run of the season had an exit velocity of 104.6 mph and went 403 feet, per Statcast™. It was Polanco's second-hardest homer since Statcast™ started tracking at the start of 2015.
"If I made a mistake, they capitalized on it," Wood said. "Even when I executed pitches, they had a great game plan and found the holes. They were able to put a lot on me and get me out of there real quick."

QUOTABLE
"They were all making fun of me in the dugout. I know the fans wanted to see me do it. But I couldn't care less if it happened. It was a fun night." -- Dozier, on falling a double short of the cycle, getting hit by a pitch in his final at-bat in the seventh

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Padres allowed seven homers in a game for the fifth time in franchise history, and first time since Aug. 13, 2011, at Cincinnati.
GRANITE ROBS MYERS
Twins center fielder Zack Granite, who replaced Byron Buxton as a pinch-hitter in the sixth, made a home run-saving catch to rob William Myers to lead off the seventh. The ball traveled a projected 406 feet to center, per Statcast™, but Granite made a remarkable leaping grab.

WHAT'S NEXT
Padres: Right-hander Dinelson Lamet (7-7, 4.32 ERA) will look to continue his strong second half in Wednesday's series finale at 5:10 p.m. PT. Lamet has a 2.55 ERA over his last nine starts dating back to July 23. Last time out, Lamet held St. Louis to two runs over six innings.
Twins: Right-hander Ervin Santana (15-7, 3.45) is set to start the series finale on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. CT. Santana struggled in his last start, allowing four runs over five innings against the Royals, but still got the win.
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