Twins spreading power throughout lineup

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins rank in the middle of the pack in home runs this season, but they have been on a tear with homers recently.

The Twins lead the Majors with 29 homers dating back to July 27, with the Tigers ranking second with 28. They also homered in 10 straight games, which was their longest streak (which ended Sunday) since homering in 11 consecutive games from Aug. 7-18, 2007.

Minnesota also has seven different hitters with at least 10 home runs, which is the most for the club since 2004, when nine different players hit at least 10.

"We've got guys who can hit home runs," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "If you look at our home-run list, I don't know even know how many guys we have with 10 home runs. We don't have a 40-home run guy at the moment, but we have some guys who can pop them. So it's just one of those streaks."

Gardenhire has been pleased by the homers, but he said he'd like to see an improvement with runners in scoring position. The Twins are hitting just .234 with runners in scoring position this year, which ranks as the fourth-worst mark in the Majors.

"You want balance up and down the lineup," Gardenhire said. "The biggest stat for us this year is runners in scoring position. We've missed a lot of opportunities. So home runs are all good and fine, but we need to come through in RBI situations."