MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins were halfway through the first month of the season before they picked up their second win last year, a putrid start that weighed on their shoulders for the rest of a miserable season.

A fresh start has done wonders for the Twins and slugger Miguel Sano.

Eduardo Escobar homered and drove in four runs and Sano added a bases-loaded triple to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 9-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.

Hector Santiago (1-0) gave up one run and four hits and struck out four in five innings for the Twins. After starting last season 0-9 to set the stage for a 103-loss season, the Twins are 2-0 for the first time since 2007.

“Everybody is playing happy,” said Sano, who homered in the season opener and just missed two more on Wednesday. “It’s a game. It’s got a name: game. Everybody try to play normal. Nobody like in a hurry or something like that. No pressure. Only play and win.”

Ian Kennedy (0-1) gave up three runs and three hits with five strikeouts and five walks in five innings for Kansas City. Paulo Orlando drove in the lone run for the Royals, who walked nine Twins batters on the day.

“You’re just putting yourself in a position for them to put big numbers on the board when that happens,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Sano broke the game open with his triple that almost cleared the high wall in right-center field and Escobar’s three-run drive just reached the seats in left field.

“I’m not a home run hitter, so as soon as I hit the ball I started hustling like I usually do,” Escobar said. “Once I got to second base and saw my teammates celebrating I was able to slow down and enjoy it.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Alex Gordon was hit on the right hand by a pitch from Santiago in the first inning, but remained in the game after being examined by team athletic trainers. He went 0 for 3.

PITCHING FOLLIES

Kennedy couldn’t find the strike zone, walking three in the Twins’ three-run second inning. That followed a season opener on Monday in which Royals pitchers walked seven Twins hitters, a troubling sign for a team that had its title defense done in last season in large part to a lackluster starting rotation.

The bullpen has been the bigger problem this season, with Nate Karns and Matt Strahm giving up all six runs in the seventh.

“Just starting off on a bad foot, really,” Karns said. “I don’t think there’s anything that can point to why we’re not doing really well right out of the gate. We’ll tighten it up and get it going tomorrow.”

HOT HANDS

Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer might have had the play of the day in the sixth inning when Eduardo Escobar sent a line drive screaming toward him. Hosmer got his glove on it, but the ball popped out. Hosmer snared the ball with his throwing hand, but had to do a bit of a juggling act before securing it and stepping on first to double up Juan Castro.

BUXTON SEARCHING

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton is being counted on to have a breakout season after looking overmatched at times at the plate last season. Manager Paul Molitor is hitting Buxton third in the order, a spot generally given to one of the team’s top hitters.

The early returns have not been promising. He has struck out six times in 10 at-bats with just one infield single.

SMALL CROWD

After selling out the opener on Monday, the Twins announced a crowd of 15,171 for Game 2 on an overcast day in which the temperature at first pitch was a cool 47 degrees. It’s the smallest crowd announced at Target Field and indicative of a fan base skeptical of the team’s chances after minimal changes were made to a roster that lost 103 games last season.

UP NEXT

Royals: RHP Jason Hammel will make his debut for the Royals in the series finale against the Twins.

Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson starts for Minnesota.

— Associated Press —

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — For the Minnesota Twins, the memory of that 0-9 start and 59-103 finish last year was still uncomfortably fresh.

They couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the new season than this.

Miguel Sano homered and drew the third bases-loaded walk during a dreadful seventh inning for Kansas City’s bullpen, as Ervin Santana and the Twins beat the Royals 7-1 on Monday for their first opening victory in nine years.

“We didn’t try to overemphasize anything about today other than the fact that we’ve been on a little bit of a mission in spring training to try to come out and play a little bit better,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.

Santana (1-0) gave up just two hits and two walks while striking out three over seven innings, aided by two diving catches of sinking line drives by center fielder Byron Buxton that highlighted a stellar afternoon of defense by the Twins.

Mike Moustakas homered leading off the fourth for the Royals, but Sano came back in the bottom of the inning with a tying 425-foot drive into the second deck off Danny Duffy. Six straight balls by Santana to start the seventh gave Molitor pause, but he responded to the mound visit with three straight outs to finish the frame.

“I try to get him to stay positive,” Sano said. “Let’s go. You’re the man over there.”

After signing a $65 million, five-year contract to assume the role as the ace of the rotation, Duffy’s first career opening day start was a dazzler with eight strikeouts over six innings with three hits and three walks.

Then manager Ned Yost turned to Matt Strahm (0-1) for the seventh, and the Royals unraveled while the Twins rallied with two bunts and four walks.

“Just one bad game. We have 161 left,” Duffy said. “Our bullpen is great, and I have ultimate confidence in them.”

The key play was Max Kepler’s hustle to beat out a sacrifice attempt for a single, following a replay reversal of the initial out call. Brian Dozier was intentionally walked to load the bases with no outs, and Robbie Grossman, Joe Mauer and Sano all forced in runs with unintentional walks.

Jason Castro tacked on a two-run single, and Jorge Polanco followed with an RBI single as Molitor’s new-look, new-age lineup with Buxton batting third and Mauer in the cleanup spot worked well for the first try.

“Just keep grinding out at-bats,” Mauer said. “That was pretty fun out there.”

UNFAMILIAR FALTER

After finishing in the top five in the major leagues in relief ERA in each of the last two seasons, using a lights-out bullpen to win the World Series in 2015, Royals relievers had a rather ominous debut. Peter Moylan struck out Buxton with the bases loaded, his only batter, but Strahm and Travis Wood each allowed four runners while retiring only one batter.

“That’s not Woody. I didn’t anticipate that. He’s a strike thrower,” Yost said. “He’s a veteran strike thrower. He’s not a guy that gets frazzled.”

FOR STARTERS

The Twins won their first game of the season for the first time since 2008, delighting a sellout crowd announced at 39,615. This was only the second time in eight years since Target Field opened that the schedule put them in Minnesota to start the season.

“There’s just something about opening day,” Molitor said, “that I think kind of tingles everybody’s spine a little bit differently than the rest of the season.”

Mauer made his 13th opening day start, tying Harmon Killebrew for the most in Twins history.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: Paulo Orlando was in RF for Jorge Soler, who began his first season with Kansas City on the 10-day DL with a strained left oblique muscle. Soler, who did some light work in the field before the game, is eligible to return on Sunday.

Twins: Santana, who reached 30-plus starts last year for the eighth time in his career, became Minnesota’s second two-time opening day starter of the last 10 seasons. Carl Pavano was the other, in 2011-12.

UP NEXT

Royals: After the scheduled off day on Tuesday, RHP Ian Kennedy will take the mound for Kansas City in the middle game on Wednesday afternoon, followed by new RHP Jason Hammel in the series finale.

Twins: LHP Hector Santiago comes up next in the rotation for Minnesota, with Kyle Gibson on tap for Thursday afternoon.

— Associated Press —

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) – Kansas City Royals outfielder Jorge Soler likely will begin his first season in Kansas City on the disabled list after straining his oblique in a minor league game.

Soler, acquired from the Chicago Cubs in December for closer Wade Davis, hurt himself on a swing Sunday. Soler went for an MRI on Monday, which revealed a Grade 1 strain. He’ll rest for five to seven days before slowly resuming baseball activities, meaning he’ll miss the Royals’ opener next Monday at Minnesota.

Soler missed nearly two months last season with a pulled left hamstring. He was sidelined for three weeks in 2015 with a left oblique injury, plus another month with a sprained ankle.

Royals manager Ned Yost also said Raul Mondesi will open the season as the starting second baseman. Mondesi won the job over Whit Merrifield, Christian Colon and Cheslor Cuthbert.

“Nothing is impossible,” Mondesi said.

Yost told the 21-year-old Mondesi the news before an exhibition game against Oakland. Mondesi began the day hitting .378 this spring with a .622 slugging percentage, three home runs and two doubles in 19 games.

“For anybody who watched, it was definitely an obvious choice,” Yost said.

Yost said when spring training began the prevailing thought was Mondesi would need more grooming in the minors after hitting .185 in 47 games for the Royals as a rookie last year. He often looked overmatched at the plate, striking out 48 times in 135 at-bats.

— Associated Press —

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — Nathan Karns has won the crowded competition for the lone vacancy in the Kansas City Royals’ rotation, getting the nod Monday from manager Ned Yost.

Karns beat out holdover Chris Young and left-hander Travis Wood for the fifth spot.

Karns was acquired Jan. 6 from Seattle for outfielder Jarrod Dyson. The 29-year-old righty hasn’t exactly been lights-out in spring training — a 7.36 ERA in four starts, allowing nine earned runs on 14 hits over 11 innings, striking out 14 and walking four.

“He’s got three `plus’ pitches,” Yost said. “We like his power. It was a tough decision. We just had to make a decision.”

Karns was 6-2 with a 5.15 ERA in 22 games, including 15 starts, last year with the Mariners before his season ended July 20 because of a herniated disk. He is 14-9 with a 4.41 ERA in 54 career games in the majors with Washington, Tampa Bay and Seattle.

“I’ve shown I’m healthy and my changeup is there,” Karns said. “Coming to camp and kind of having a smooth road with my back issue has been very positive. That was really something I was banking on to be healthy. If I came in and wasn’t healthy, that probably would have been more disappointing than anything.”

Left-hander Danny Duffy and Ian Kennedy will front the rotation, while Jason Hammel, Jason Vargas and Karns will round it out.

“It’s very rewarding,” Karns said. “I was just very happy to be part of the competition, let alone win it.”

Karns knows this decision in March won’t mean much if he doesn’t produce.

“If I don’t prove myself, somebody else is going to replace me,” Karns said.

Karns’ outing Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers began badly as he allowed four runs, including a two-run homer to Ryan Braun, in the first inning. He settled down after that with three scoreless innings.

“Stop nibbling,” Karns said was his adjustment. “I was trying to be too cute on the corners and falling behind. When I got ahead, my secondary stuff was left up. I wasn’t finishing my pitches.

“After you get kicked around in the first inning, you get a little fire under you. I need to come in prepared in the first inning, make sure I’m finishing my pitches when I’m ahead in the count,” he said.

Young had a 2.13 ERA in four outings, allowing 13 hits, walking four and striking out 11 in 12 2/3 innings. Young’s 2016 worked against him as he went 1-8 with a 7.39 ERA in 13 starts, allowing 26 home runs in 56 innings, before being sent to the bullpen.

Wood signed with the Royals in the offseason with the premise he would be given a chance to compete for a rotation slot after spending all of last season in the Cubs’ bullpen. He went 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA over 13 1/3 innings.

Hammel allowed one run on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in a 10-6 loss to Cincinnati on Monday.

— Associated Press —