ANAHEIM, Calif. -- C.J. Cron said he believed in spring training that the Minnesota Twins were going to have a good offense this season. Their hitting hasn't just been good, it has been powerful.

The Twins tied a franchise record with eight home runs and beat the Los Angeles Angels 16-7 on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep. The Twins, who also went deep eight times earlier this season at Baltimore, joined the 2005 Texas Rangers as the only teams in MLB history to have multiple games in a season with eight or more home runs.

"It's all just kind of clicked and hopefully there's no stopping," said Cron, who had five hits, including a home run against his former team. "When you are hitting like this it is contagious. If you look at this lineup you are going to see a lot of power. We have the ability to do that and it is nice to show it."

Miguel Sano and Jonathan Schoop went deep twice for Minnesota. Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco and Eddie Rosario also homered.

It was the third time in franchise history, dating to their days as the Washington Senators, Minnesota homered eight times.

The Twins have an MLB-best 98 home runs through their first 49 games this season, putting them on pace for 324 homers. That would shatter the 2018 New York Yankees' record of 267 home runs.

The 98 homers are tied for the second-most homers through a team's first 50 games in MLB history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. The 1999 Seattle Mariners had 102 homers in their first 50 games.

"It's pretty amazing. Our guys continue to go up there and not give up at-bats," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "We've had some games this season where we have hit a lot of homers. It's not as if our guys go up there swinging for the fences."

Schoop drove in four runs and Sano three as the Twins won six of seven on a road trip that began in Seattle and wound up with their first sweep in Anaheim since 1996. Minnesota, which leads the AL Central by eight games at 33-16, hit 22 homers against the Mariners and the Angels.

There were a total of 11 home runs in this game, which was originally set for Wednesday but postponed because of unplayable field conditions following a pregame storm.

The eight home runs also tied the Angels' mark for most allowed. It previously happened twice, with the most recent coming in 2005 vs. Texas.

Four of the seven hits Matt Harvey (2-4) allowed in 2⅔ innings went over the wall as the right-hander gave up eight runs for the second time this season. Noe Ramirez and Cody Allen gave up two long balls apiece.

"The long balls were killing us. It's hard, like I've said times, to tell where on the plate it is, but they came out swinging," manager Brad Ausmus said.

Tommy La Stella hit his first grand slam in the ninth for the Angels, who have dropped four straight. David Fletcher and Brian Goodwin also homered for Los Angeles.

Minnesota broke open the game in the second inning with six runs, which included a three-run shot by Schoop and two-run drive by Polanco. Harvey was chased in the third after solo homers by Cron and Sano.

The Twins hit three home runs in the seventh to extend their lead to 14-2. Sano's two-run shot and Schoop's solo homer marked the sixth time the Twins had gone back-to-back this season. Kepler added a two-run drive.

Twins starter Martin Perez (7-1) went five innings and yielded two runs and five hits.

ROAD WARRIORS

Minnesota is 18-8, batting .292 and averaging 6.96 runs on the road, which are all the best in the majors.

The Twins batted .326 (89-for-273) with 37 extra-base hits against the Mariners and Angels while outscoring them 67-27.

"We've played well on the road. We don't get distracted," Baldelli said. "I don't see any difference in how we prepare here compared to home."

TOUGH DAY

Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun came up twice with the bases loaded but was unable to get a hit. He struck out in the third and grounded into a force out to end the fifth.

LATE RELIEF

Angels first baseman Jared Walsh, who made five relief appearances at Triple-A Salt Lake this season, pitched for the first time in the majors. He gave up a run, two hits and a walk in the ninth.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Twins: Kepler bruised his right knee when he hit the wall while chasing Goodwin's home run in the ninth inning. Baldelli though didn't think it was serious. ... DH Nelson Cruz (left wrist sprain) returned to Minneapolis. He is eligible to come off the injured list Friday, but Baldelli said they are still seeing how he is doing swinging during batting practice.

Angels: SS Andrelton Simmons (left ankle sprain) saw a foot and ankle specialist Wednesday and expected to remain in a walking boot for at least two weeks. ... LHP Andrew Heaney (elbow) had a bullpen session before Thursday's game and could make his season debut Sunday.

UP NEXT

Twins: Return home and open a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox. RHP Jose Berrios (6-2, 3.39 ERA) has seven or more strikeouts in his past four starts.

Angels: Conclude their homestand with three games against Texas. RHP Griffin Canning (2-3, 3.80 ERA), who became the second Angels starter to go seven innings last Saturday against Kansas City, gets the call on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Toronto Blue Jays prospect Cavan Biggio will be called up to the major leagues for the first time Friday, sources told ESPN, confirming multiple reports Thursday night.

Biggio, a second baseman and the son of Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, is hitting .306/.440/.507 with Triple-A Buffalo this season.

Toronto selected the younger Biggio in the fifth round of the 2016 draft. The infielder turned 24 in April.

Biggio will join another heralded prospect in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is also the son of a Hall of Famer, on Toronto's roster. A third baseman, Guerrero is hitting .241 with five homers and 11 RBIs since being called up last month.

The Blue Jays will be the first team in MLB history to have multiple sons of Hall of Famers on the big league roster in a season, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.

The Blue Jays are also calling up Lourdes Gurriel Jr., the brother of the Houston Astros' Yuli Gurriel, for another stint with the major league team, while outfielder Billy McKinney and infielder Richard Urena head to Buffalo, the reports said.

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Mike Modano has decided to return to his NHL roots in Minnesota.

The Hall of Fame center was named on Thursday as the executive adviser to Wild owner Craig Leipold and president Matt Majka, a newly created position that Modano will assume on Sept. 1.

Modano, who played the first four of his 21 seasons in the league with the North Stars before the franchise moved to Dallas in 1993, will focus on sales, corporate partnerships and community relations. Modano held a similar role from 2013-15 with the Stars, where he played 16 years and won the Stanley Cup in 1999.

Modano, a seven-time All-Star, had 561 goals and 813 assists in 1,499 career NHL games. He's a native of Livonia, Michigan.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Veteran tight end Benjamin Watson said Thursday that he began having second thoughts about his retirement about a month ago, but he was only willing to return for a 16th season with a few teams.

That list was headlined by the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots.

Watson signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Patriots on May 9, and he is now one of the top options to potentially help fill the void created by Rob Gronkowski's retirement.

Watson, 38, called Gronkowski a "fabulous player" whom he has watched for years, but said Gronkowski's retirement wasn't a catalyst for him to change his mind. Even with the sting of not playing in the Saints' crushing loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game after he had been diagnosed with appendicitis, Watson had been moving forward in retirement.

"I started looking into other opportunities -- broadcasting, player development. I was actively looking for other options, and had a few options as well," Watson said after participating in the Patriots' voluntary organized team activity Thursday. "Then as time passed -- two months, three months -- I started thinking, 'Maybe I could do it one more time. Let's see what's out there.'

"... It was more of a family decision. My wife [Kirsten] and I talking about what that would look like for our family, and just kind of weighing the pros and cons."

As for why the Saints and Patriots were atop his list, Watson said the answer was fairly easy.

"We live in New Orleans now, obviously I just played there last year, and we love that community there," Watson said. "The kids have a lot of friends in school. Our church. Just the city itself, we really love the people there.

"And obviously [New England], it's a place where we started [as a first-round draft pick in 2004]. When I came here, I was a rookie and wasn't married. Now we have seven kids and have been married 13 years. So this place is always special to us as well. ... Having to uproot and go to a place that was new would have been tough for us."

The 6-foot-3, 251-pound Watson totaled 35 receptions for 400 yards and two touchdowns last season. Watson said he has always kept in touch with quarterback Tom Brady, joking that his texts are usually to congratulate Brady on another Super Bowl win, while Brady's texts are to congratulate him on another new baby.

Watson has played for the Patriots (2004-09), Cleveland Browns (2010-12), Saints (2013-15, 2018) and Baltimore Ravens (2016-17).

"There were two clubs, when I was retired, where I said, 'If I were to play again, I'd love to go somewhere I've been before or stay in New Orleans,'" he said. "Moving here as a rookie at 22 years old, and now coming back with a whole tribe, that's something that's going to be fun for all of us."

NEW YORK -- Nationals manager Dave Martinez was ejected in the eighth inning of a game against the Mets and didn't leave until making quite a scene.

Plate umpire Bruce Dreckman rang up Washington's Howie Kendrick for a strikeout as he tried to check his swing Thursday, then tossed the veteran player. Martinez charged from the dugout, spiked his hat and kicked dirt on home plate during an extended, heated argument.

Washington trailed 3-1 at the time and had already lost four in a row. Immediately after Martinez got ejected, the Nationals rallied for three runs. But the bullpen promptly gave up the lead in the bottom of the inning when the Mets' Carlos Gomez hit a three-run homer off reliever Wander Suero.

The Mets held on for a 6-4 victory. The blown save tied the Nationals with the Oakland Athletics for the major league lead with 10. Washington's bullpen entered Thursday's game with a major league-worst 6.89 ERA.

After starting the season with postseason aspirations, the Nats entered the game 19-30, a record better than only the Miami Marlins, Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals.

With Thursday's loss, Washington was swept in the four-game series and now has lost five straight games overall.

The Nationals are now 12 games under .500 for the first time since the end of the 2010 season, when they finished 69-93, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New York Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes is expected to miss the entire season after having ankle surgery, the team announced Thursday.

The Mets said the 33-year-old Cespedes, who suffered a broken right ankle in an accident on his ranch, had the operation at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

Cespedes hadn't played this season while recovering from surgery to remove calcification on both of his heels. The two-time All-Star played just 38 games last year and has played only 119 games since signing a four-year, $110 million deal before the 2017 season.

Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said this week the team was told Saturday night that Cespedes sustained multiple ankle fractures on his ranch in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where the club's spring training complex is located.

Cespedes helped lead the Mets to the 2015 World Series and a 2016 playoff appearance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Swiss great Roger Federer's first French Open since 2015 will begin against Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal will play a qualifier, while top seed Novak Djokovic meets Poland's Hubert Hurkacz.

In the women's draw, 2018 winner Simona Halep of Romania faces Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.

British number one Johanna Konta - seeded 26th - faces a qualifier, while male counterpart Kyle Edmund meets home hope Jeremy Chardy.

British men's number two Cameron Norrie will play controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios, while Dan Evans takes on Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

Katie Boulter pulled out of the tournament earlier this month because of a back injury - although there was confusion as her name was still in the draw.

The French Open - the second Grand Slam of the year and the only one on clay - starts on Sunday.

Federer and Nadal could meet in the last four

Third seed Federer, 37, has been drawn in the same half of the men's singles as 11-time champion Nadal, meaning they could meet in the semi-finals.

Federer could also face Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, who knocked him out of the Australian Open in January, in the last eight.

Spanish second seed Nadal has been handed a favourable-looking draw, with another qualifier awaiting in round two before potential matches against seeds David Goffin, Nikoloz Basilashvili and Kei Nishikori, or Daniil Medvedev.

Djokovic is projected to meet Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem, who was beaten by Nadal in last year's final, in the last four.

Germany's Alexander Zverev is a potential quarter-final opponent for the Serb.

Williams and Osaka set for rematch?

Serena Williams, who has been struggling with injury, plays 82nd-ranked Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia.

American 10th seed Williams cannot meet another seeded player until the fourth round, where she is projected to meet Australia's eighth seed Ashleigh Barty.

World number one Naomi Osaka begins her first Grand Slam as the top seed against Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, with 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko or two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka awaiting in the second round if the Japanese player beats the world number 92.

Williams could face Osaka, who beat the 23-time Grand Slam champion in September's controversial US Open final, in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams has been drawn against Ukrainian ninth seed Elina Svitolina.

Konta has chance to end Roland Garros run

Konta has raced up the rankings - and earned herself a seeding in Paris - on the back of an impressive clay-court season in which she has reached the final of the Morocco Open and Italian Open.

The 28-year-old is hoping that form will lead to a change of fortune at Roland Garros, where she has lost in the first round on her four previous appearances.

Konta's rise means she cannot play another seed until the third round, where she could meet in-form fourth seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands.

Konta is the only British woman with direct entry into the main draw after 22-year-old Boulter withdrew, although Katie Swan, 20, is hoping to join her for the first time by winning her final qualifying match on Friday.

Edmund, 24, has struggled for form on the clay this season and has been handed a relatively tricky tie for a seeded player against France's Chardy, who is ranked 40th.

Evans - who has qualified directly for a Grand Slam for the first time in two years - plays a man who has been ranked inside the world's top 10 in the shape of 35-year-old Verdasco.