SEATTLE -- Robinson Cano hit the ball where nobody could catch it Tuesday night.

Cano lined a three-run homer over the right field wall in the first inning, his 11th of the season, sparking the Seattle Mariners to a 12-3 victory against the Minnesota Twins at Safeco Field.

Kyle Seager also hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs, and Danny Valencia had a three-run double for the Mariners, who won their fourth consecutive game and their eighth out of nine.

The Twins, who lead the American League Central, lost for just the seventh time in 24 road games this season.

"It felt really good," said Cano, who was just 3-for-18 in the first five games of the Mariners' current 11-game homestand despite hitting the ball hard several times.

On Sunday, Cano hit what appeared to be a two-run double down the right field line against Tampa Bay. However, the ball hit the umpire and rolled back toward the first baseman, who stepped on the bag for the out.

"That's how you know you're not going good," Cano admitted. "But even with those things, I never let my confidence get down."

Said Mariners manager Scott Servais: "(Cano) probably should have had five or six hits the last series, he was just hitting them right at people. You hit it over the fence, they can't get it."

Seattle left-hander James Paxton (5-0), making his second start since a stint on the disabled list caused by a left forearm strain, allowed three runs on five hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out four.

Paxton, who hadn't allowed a run in five of his previous seven starts this season, faced the minimum number of batters through the first three innings, thanks to a double-play ball in the third.

Staked to a five-run lead, Paxton ran into a bit of trouble in the fourth.

Brian Dozier led off the inning with a sky-high homer down the left field line that just cleared the fence. It was his ninth home run of the season.

An out later, Miguel Sano lined a double into the right-center-field gap. Sano moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a fielder's choice to make it 5-2.

Paxton admitted he might have gotten out of sync with the Mariners' offense spending so much time at the plate.

"The guys were swinging it great, and we had some big innings there," he said. "I just burned myself out mentally trying to stay up (between innings). It's something to learn from."

The Mariners pulled away with a seven-run fifth -- with all the runs scoring before the Twins could record an out. Valencia lined a bases-loaded double into the left-center-field gap off Randy Rosario, and Seager hit his sixth homer of the season to right off Alex Wimmers to make it 12-2.

Seager had a chance to add to his big night in the eighth when he faced Minnesota catcher Chris Gimenez, a former Mariners teammate, who made his fourth mop-up appearance of the season.

Gimenez got Seager to fly out to the warning track in center field as part of a 1-2-3 inning.

"He gassed up on me, bumped like 6 mph on his fastball," Seager said. "He's legit. A two-way guy."

Twins starter Hector Santiago (4-6) allowed just three hits over 2 2/3 innings, but he struggled with his control. The left-hander issued four walks and gave up five runs.

"He walked four guys the first three innings, and they all scored," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "That just puts you in a bad spot.

"I thought we tried to hang in there a little bit, we made (Paxton) work and got him up close to 100 pitches in five innings, but we just couldn't keep it close enough to make it a very good ballgame after that."

Mariners designated hitter Nelson Cruz left in the fourth inning after hitting a run-scoring single. Servais said the move was precautionary, as Cruz is nursing a tight calf.

NOTES: Multiple reports have the Mariners and injured SS Jean Segura close to an agreement on a multiyear contract extension. A report from the Dominican Republic, Segura's homeland, puts the extension at $70 million over five years. Segura, who leads the American League with a .341 average despite being on the disabled list with a right high ankle sprain, is making $6.2 million this year and will become a free agent after the 2018 season. ... Twins SS Jorge Polanco was scratched from the lineup Tuesday and headed home to the Dominican Republic after the death of his grandfather. ... Mariners RHP Felix Hernandez and OF Mitch Haniger both started for Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday while on rehabilitation assignments. Hernandez allowed five runs on four hits in two innings, and Haniger was 1-for-4 and scored a run against Reno.