SEATTLE (AP) — Byron Buxton extended Minnesota’s home run streak to 18 straight games with a three-run shot in the sixth inning, Pablo López allowed one run over six innings, and the Twins beat the Seattle Mariners 5-1 on Saturday night.

Minnesota Twins 5, Seattle Mariners 1: Box Score

Minnesota improved to 5-3 on its current nine-game road trip and got the 5,000th win in franchise history since the Twins moved from Washington prior to the 1961 season.

Buxton homered for the second time in three games, this time breaking the game open with a shot off Seattle reliever Trent Thornton with two outs in the sixth inning. Thornton was on the verge of escaping trouble after the first two batters of the inning reached, but he left a 2-2 fastball in the middle of the plate and Buxton didn’t miss for his eighth homer of the season.

“He’s finding ways to just have good at-bats, put himself in good counts. But the swing, I’ve said a couple of times before, looks very synched up. It looks very tight and it’s very impactful. He’s finding the barrel and the ball just really takes off when he’s putting good swings on the ball,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Minnesota’s 18-game streak of long balls is tied for the franchise record set last season between April 18 and May 6, 2023. It’s the second-longest streak in the majors this season behind Baltimore’s 22-game stretch earlier this month, and the Twins have hit 29 homers during the span.

Buxton also had a two-out RBI double in the fourth inning off Seattle starter Bryce Miller that barely eluded the diving attempt of Luke Raley in left field. The four RBIs were a season high for Buxton and the most since July 21, 2023, against the White Sox.

“Once you figure out what you don’t have to search for the whole time going into the cage, not spending 40 minutes on that one little piece you’re trying to figure out it kind of simplifies the game a little bit more,” Buxton said. “When I say, ‘see ball, hit ball,’ it’s more just about simplifying it to just go out there and have a quality at-bat.”

Coming off a 14-strikeout performance in his last start, López (8-6) scattered four hits and struck out nine. He’s allowed six hits and one earned run in his last 14 innings, and retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced.

Seattle’s only run off López came via Mitch Haniger’s solo homer in the third inning. It was Haniger’s seventh homer of the season but his first since May 14.

Miller (6-7) was lifted after five innings and only allowing two runs. But he had to work to get through those five innings throwing 87 pitches and with the heart of the Twins order coming up in the sixth.

Miller allowed five hits and struck out six.

“He did have to throw a lot of offspeed pitches tonight, probably the most he’s thrown all year, but he was able to work through it,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “It wasn’t easy. … He had to grind through it.”

UP NEXT

Twins: RHP Joe Ryan (5-5, 3.31) has pitched at least six innings in his last four starts. He allowed four runs over six innings in his last outing against Arizona.

Mariners: RHP Luis Castillo (6-9, 3.79) will throw on normal rest rather than giving him two extra days off and having him start Tuesday’s series opener against Baltimore. Castillo has lost three of his last four starts.

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The 2024 NHL Draft continued starting with the second round Saturday, and the Seattle Kraken kicked off the day in a similar fashion to Friday’s first round by tapping into an in-state Western Hockey League squad.

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Rounds 2 through 7 took place on the draft’s second and final day. Here’s a look at the seven players Seattle picked on Saturday, plus Friday’s first-round pick.

Round 1

Eighth overall: Berkly Catton, C

The Kraken kicked off their fourth draft as a franchise by taking a talented offensive prospect in Catton from the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. The 18-year-old center racked up 54 goals and 62 assists with the Chiefs last season. Catton, a 5 foot 10, 170-pounder, was the WHL Rookie of the Year in 2022-23 with 23 goals and 22 assists.

🎥BERKLY CATTON – HIGHLIGHT REEL🎥

The purrfect highlight reel doesn’t exi—@spokanechiefs | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/EMoIJ3MfkP

— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 28, 2024

The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, native is a left-handed shot and the eighth-ranked North American skater in the draft, according to NHL Central Scouting.

Round 2

40th overall: Julius Miettinen, C

Seattle’s second pick came from one of Spokane’s cross-state division rivals in the WHL. Miettinen, a 6 foot 3, 203-pounder, netted 31 goals and added 36 assists for the Everett Silvertips last season.

Hey @SeattleKraken.

You’re gonna LOVE Julius Miettinen.#SeaKraken | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/6SiKXEBKq7

— Everett Silvertips (@WHLsilvertips) June 29, 2024

The Helsinki, Finland, native is another left-handed-shooting centerman, but much larger in stature than Catton. Miettinen was a late riser on draft boards, moving from 49th to 18th in NHL Central Scouting’s final international skater rankings.

63rd overall: Nathan Villeneuve, C

The Kraken continued their early run on centers by taking Villeneuve from the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves with their second second-round pick. Villeneuve, an Ottawa, Ontario, native, amassed 23 goals and 27 assists in 56 games with the Wolves last season.

2024 #NHLDraft prospect Nathan Villeneuve capped the @Sudbury_Wolves‘ comeback Friday night with the OT winner! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/80ZoZy4B9C

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) February 24, 2024

The 5-foot-11, 192-pounder made it three for three in terms of left-handed shooters taken early by Seattle. Villeneuve, 18, is the 60th-ranked North American skater.

Round 3

73rd overall: Alexis Bernier, D

Bernier, 18, had four goals and 27 assists in 67 games for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League last season. Bernier, a 6-foot-1, 189-pound right-handed shot, is the 62nd-ranked North American skater.

88th overall: Kim Saarinen, G

Saarinen, 17, is a big-bodied goaltender who played across multiple levels in Finland this past season. The 6-foot-4, 176-pounder from Finland is the third-ranked international goalie.

Round 4

105th overall: Oliver Josephson, C

Josephson, 17, was the third left-handed WHL centerman taken by the Kraken. He totaled 12 goals and 35 assists for the Red Deer Rebels last season. Josephson, who measures in at 6-foot, 178 pounds, is the 40th-ranked North American skater.

It’s a shortie for Ollie Josephson!@Rebelshockey | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture pic.twitter.com/dPIfYJeeGH

— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 6, 2023

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Round 5

141st overall: Clarke Caswell, LW

Caswell, 18, scored 26 goals and dished out 51 assists for the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos last season. The 5 foot 11, 170-pounder is the 77th-ranked North American skater.

Round 7

202nd overall: Jakub Fibigr, D

Fibigr, 17, netted seven goals and had 36 assists in 61 games for the Mississauga Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League last season. The 6-foot, 171-pounder is a left-handed shot and the 67th-ranked North American skater.

Potential Sonics return may have played role in Kraken coach change

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The Minnesota Twins (45-37) and Seattle Mariners (47-37) play the middle contest of a 3-game series Saturday. First pitch from T-Mobile Park is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET (MLB Network). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Twins vs. Mariners odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: Twins lead 3-2

The Mariners exacted a little revenge for dropping 3 of 4 games in Minnesota May 6-9, opening this series with a 3-2 win as a moderate favorite (-126) Friday night as the Under (7) easily connected.

The Twins offense was cooled off, as Minnesota entered play with 115 runs scored in the previous 17 outings, or 6.8 runs per game. It had scored 3 or more runs in 15 of those 17 games while cashing the Over at an 8-3 clip in the previous 11 contests.

Minnesota RHP Pablo Lopez took a perfect game into the 6th inning in his last start against the Athletics, twirling 8 scoreless innings while matching a career high with 14 strikeouts.

The Mariners improved to 18-9 in 1-run games with the 3-2 win Friday. That’s the most wins in the majors in games decided by a single run, with the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays next best with 16 one-run wins.

Twins at Mariners projected starters

RHP Pablo Lopez vs. RHP Bryce Miller

Lopez (7-6, 5.11 ERA) makes his 17th start. He has a 1.17 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 10.3 K/9 in 88 innings.

• Last start: Win, 8 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 14 K (102 pitches) in 3-0 victory at Oakland A’s Sunday
• 2024 road splits: 4-3, 5.09 ERA (46 IP, 26 ER), 1.07 WHIP, .209 opponents’ batting average (OBA), 9 HR, 13 BB, 58 K in 8 starts
• 2024 vs. Mariners: 1-0, 1.42 ERA (6 1/3 IP, 1 ER), 4 H, 0 BB, 10 K in 1 start, an 11-1 home win May 9
• Career vs. Mariners: 1-1, 2.45 ERA (18 1/3 IP, 5 ER), 1.04 WHIP, 3 HR, 12.3 K/9 in 3 starts

Miller (6-6, 3.90 ERA) makes his 17th start. He has a 1.04 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9 and 8.3 K/9 in 92 1/3 innings.

• Last start: Loss, 4 IP, 6 ER, 6 H (2 HR), 1 BB, 3 K in 6-4 setback at Miami Marlins Sunday
• 2024 home splits: 4-2, 1.82 ERA (49 1/3 IP, 10 ER), 0.83 WHIP, .159 OBA, 3 HR, 14 BB, 59 K in 8 starts
• Career vs. Twins: 1-0, 9.53 ERA (5 2/3 IP, 6 ER), 8 H, 0 BB, 7 K in 1 start, an 8-7 road win July 26, 2023

Who’s going yard? Here’s a breakdown of today’s best home run props with our top picks. Include the BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE to score a $1,500 first-bet offer.

Twins at Mariners odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:12 p.m. ET.

• Moneyline (ML): Twins -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | Mariners +100 (bet $100 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Twins -1.5 (+140) | Mariners +1.5 (-165)
• Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: +100 | U: -120)

Twins at Mariners picks and predictions

Prediction

Mariners 3, Twins 2

Moneyline

The MARINERS (+100) are a good bet to run it back by the same score as Friday’s series opener.

While Lopez is coming off a huge performance last time out, it was also against the Athletics. He is pitching with a lot of confidence, though, and he’ll give the Twins (-120) a chance.

However, Miller has been money at home. He has stark splits on the road and at T-Mobile Park, posting a 6.28 ERA in 43 IP in 8 road starts and a 1.82 ERA in 49 1/3 IP in 8 home outings.

Run line/Against the spread

The Mariners +1.5 (-165) are a little too expensive if you would prefer some insurance and just cannot back Seattle straight up for whatever reason.

AVOID.

Over/Under

UNDER 7.5 (-120) is the way to go, as Lopez and Miller should produce plenty of donuts.

The Under is now 5-1-1 in the past 7 games at T-Mobile Park for the M’s following Friday’s series opener.

The Over is 6-2 in the past 8 for the Twins, but the Under is 2-1 in the past 3 road starts for Lopez.

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