Morneau pleases fans, belts M’s

SEATTLE — On yet another day for young players to make an impression at Safeco Field, the one who did it Thursday wasn’t wearing a Seattle Mariners uniform.

With family and friends from New Westminster, B.C., chanting his name as they had all week, Justin Morneau sent them back up I-5 with something to brag about.

Morneau (pronounced “more-no”) smacked two-run home runs in the first and fifth innings, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 6-3 victory over the Mariners.

It was about time.

The Morneau gang had won his No. 27 jersey and chanted “Let’s go Morneau” for two days, and all he gave them in return was one bloop single in eight at-bats Tuesday and Wednesday.

Thursday, the 23-year-old first baseman unveiled the home-run swing that convinced the Twins to trade popular veteran Doug Mientkiewicz to Boston on July 31.

Morneau launched a first-inning fastball from Ryan Franklin into the right-field seats for a 2-0 Twins lead, and did it again in the fifth with another two-run homer that made the score 6-1.

They were his ninth and 10th home runs this season — which covers just 33 games since being called up from Triple-A Rochester — and gave Morneau the first multi-homer game of his brief big-league career.

The second homer was a show of strength, when Morneau hit a down-and-away changeup from Franklin 417 feet to left-center field.

“He showed why they think a lot of that kid,” Mariners manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s got power to all fields and he’s the reason they trade a guy like Mientkiewicz.”

With Franklin wobbly with his control and Twins starter Johan Santana (12-6) as sharp as he’s been all season, the Mariners’ fate seemed sealed early.

Franklin, 3-11 and without a victory since June 5, walked the first two hitters in the second inning before Shannon Stewart drove them both home with a two-out triple, making the score 4-0.

The Mariners scored in the third on Hiram Bocachica’s home run, but Morneau’s fifth-inning homer put the game out of reach.

“It would have been nice to (sweep), but the first inning had a little effect,” Melvin said. “Suddenly, you’ve got a guy like Santana on the mound who’s probably been as hot a pitcher as anybody in the American League.”