Kansas City, Mo. ? The team that refused to go away needed only one swing to go deep. And the Minnesota Twins didn’t stop there.

Jacque Jones homered on the second pitch of the game, then hit a go-ahead, three-run shot in the seventh inning Monday as the Twins opened the season with an 8-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

David Ortiz, Brian Buchanan and Torii Hunter also homered for the Twins, who survived major league baseball’s attempt to eliminate them when a Minnesota judge issued an injunction that forced the team to honor its lease at the Metrodome.

“All we want is a chance to play. We’ve got it, and we don’t worry about that kind of stuff,” Jones said.

“We don’t care what anybody tries to do to us. We’re all still kids pretty much and we just want to get out and play. We don’t have anything to prove to anybody.”

Buchanan agreed.

“Contraction and all that business is out of our control,” he said. “We’re going to come out here and pitch, swing the bat and play defense. Then if they still want to contract us, it’s not for us to decide.”

The victory also made Ron Gardenhire a winner in his first game as Tom Kelly’s successor as manager.

“I don’t know if nervous Nellie is the word,” he said. “But I can’t sit down. I keep walking up and down. It was very exciting.”

Minnesota, which sent Kansas City to its 14th loss in its last 17 openers, took a 3-0 lead, then fell behind 6-3 in the fifth when Neifi Perez and Carlos Beltran hit consecutive RBI triples.

Hunter homered in the sixth off starter Jeff Suppan, and the Twins came back in the seventh against loser Cory Bailey.

Buchanan and Luis Rivas singled before Jones’ three-run drive put the Twins ahead 7-6 and gave him the first multihomer game in the major leagues this season.

“It was a first pitch fastball,” said Bailey. “You leave it up and over the plate, and it goes out.”

Brian Shouse walked Corey Koskie with the bases loaded later in the inning, forcing in another run.

J.C. Romero got the win in relief with 2 2/3 hitless innings, and Eddie Guardado pitched the ninth for the save.

“Bailey had a tough day, no question about it,” said Royals manager Tony Muser. “Everybody needs to do their job in order for us to win.”

In the first inning, Jones took a strike before homering off Suppan. Ortiz homered two outs later and Buchanan connected with one out in the third off Suppan, who gave four runs on seven hits in six innings.

Brad Radke, making his sixth opening day start, gave up six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Joe Randa’s sacrifice fly produced Kansas City’s first run in the second. Beltran’s sacrifice fly and Mike Sweeney’s two-run double put the Royals on top 4-3 in the third.

Notes: Fireworks in pregame ceremonies touched off a brief fire on the grassy slope behind the center field wall. A circle of grass about 10 feet around was blackened before the fire was quickly extinguished. Royals manager Tony Muser, who had fans clamoring for his firing last season, got a big ovation when he was introduced. The Twins are only two victories away from making the overall series between the clubs dead-even at 238-238. The Twins were playing their first game without Tom Kelly as manager since Sept. 11, 1986.