Young outfielders Aaron Hicks and Eddie Rosario picked a perfect day to end home run droughts.
Their twin blasts to right field sent the Twins to a 6-4 victory and a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon at sun-splashed Target Field.
The victory, combined with Kansas City's 4-2 loss to the Yankees in New York, moves Minnesota into a tie for first place in the American League Central. Both the Twins and Royals are 28-18.
Hicks had homered just once in his past 279 big-league at-bats since the all-star break of 2013, but he jumped on a first-pitch changeup from Rick Porcello (4-4) for a two-run homer in the fourth.