The Twins accomplished a feat they haven’t been able to do all season: Win a game during a doubleheader.

Minnesota erupted for six runs against Griffin Canning and the Angels bullpen in a 6-3 Game 2 win on Thursday, the most runs they’ve scored in a single game among their three doubleheaders this season.

In Game 1 at Angel Stadium, the Twins pushed across one run on a sacrifice fly from Rob Refsnyder in the second inning but were held scoreless the rest of the way. Twins left-handed starter Lewis Thorpe and reliever Tyler Duffey combined to allow seven runs (four earned) in Minnesota’s 7-1 loss.

“It's always good to win. It makes the travel a lot easier and a lot more fun. Jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead and letting the guys settle in and continue to add on was big,” said acting manager Bill Evers, who filled in as Rocco Baldelli served his one-game suspension. “José [Berríos] probably didn't have his best stuff early on but when we got him the runs and he gave up a few, he really bore down the last three innings and got us through the fifth. And then the relief pitchers did magnificent.”

The nightcap began much differently, with Miguel Sanó setting the tone with a first-inning grand slam that sailed a Statcast-projected 413 feet, with an exit velocity of 106.4 mph. It was his seventh home run of the year and his second career grand slam. His quick blast gave the Twins a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, though the Angels tried to test it.

As for Sanó’s first career grand slam, it also occurred in Game 2 of a doubleheader -- at Progressive Field on Sept. 14, 2019, against the Cleveland Indians. And just like that first slam, his long ball on Thursday was the difference maker.

“I try to be ready for the first few changeups. And then I continued to try looking for the change and he threw me a couple of fastballs, or what I think was the fastball,” Sanó said. “And I told him to throw it right and I got it and I hit a grand slam.”

Sanó has caught fire lately, with a .333 batting average in his last seven games with five homers and 11 RBIs. He’s been one of the hitters Minnesota has needed in its unexpectedly slow start to the season. But the way he’s swung the bat lately, he may have finally flipped the switch in the batter’s box.

“I’ve known Miguel since the Minor Leagues, since I came here in 2012," Berríos said. "He’s been a really big prospect, everybody talked about Sanó. So when he does the things like he did today and a couple of days ago, that doesn’t surprise me. I’m really proud of him because I know he really wants to be good. He works for that, and he can do that. I feel happy for him, and it gives me joy the way he’s hitting so far.”

Mitch Garver, who returned to the lineup after exiting Monday's game vs. the White Sox with a bruised right knee suffered on a foul tip, wasted no time showing he was feeling healthy. He caught the full seven innings, five from Berríos and two from the bullpen, and blasted his seventh homer in the third to cushion Minnesota’s lead -- a ball that crashed into the left-field foul pole.

The Angels inched their way back in the game with a run in the first inning and two more in the second. Minnesota caught a break in the third when a Jared Walsh drive down the right-field line off Berríos, initially ruled to be a homer, was overturned by a crew chief review.

“I saw when the ball hit something, it was late. I noticed the ball already passed the pole, and I went, 'Evers, I think that was the cable,'” Berríos said. “Then we went to replay, we saw it, he said, ‘Now we have to strike him out,’ so we did.”

The next long ball of the night didn’t need to go to replay, however. Twins rookie outfielder Trevor Larnach, a California native, drove his first career homer 397 feet to right-center, extending Minnesota’s lead to three.

Whether or not the doubleheader split is a sign for things to come, the Twins have emphasized that this is the team that they are. They’ll be put to the test Friday, after they take their flight to Cleveland from Anaheim for a three-game weekend set against the team that sits nine games ahead of them in the AL Central.