Big first-inning rally proves enough for Twins to top Braves

Josh Bell went 2-for-3 with a two-run double and the Minnesota Twins scored four runs in the first inning, then held on for a 4-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Monday in Minneapolis.

Kody Clemens finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for Minnesota, which won the opener of a three-game series. Royce Lewis also drove in a run as the Twins snapped a three-game losing streak.

Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a two-run single for Atlanta, which took its third loss in four games. Drake Baldwin went 2-for-5 with a double.

Twins right-hander Travis Adams (3-0) tossed two perfect innings, striking out three. He was one of four relievers to follow starter Bailey Ober, who allowed two runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. Ober fanned four and walked one.

Braves left-hander Martin Perez (8-7) gave up four runs on nine hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three.

Twins right-hander Yoendrys Gomez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to collect his 18th save. The Braves had a runner on third when Gomez got Baldwin to hit a game-ending flyout to the warning track in left.

The Twins jumped on top in the bottom of the first and led the rest of the way.

Luke Keaschall hit a leadoff double before Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers drew back-to-back walks, loading the bases with no outs. Bell drove in two runs on a bloop fly ball that landed just inside the right field line and spun into the seats for a ground-rule double.

Lewis then ripped a line-drive single to center field, scoring Jeffers. Clemens finished the big inning with a single to right that drove in Bell.

The Braves got on the scoreboard in the fifth. Austin Riley singled and Baldwin hit a one-out double before Acuna delivered a two-run single to left, cutting Atlanta's deficit to 4-2.

Minnesota loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth against Ray Kerr. The Braves left-hander, making his major league season debut, escaped the jam by retiring the next three batters.

--Field Level Media