MINNEAPOLIS — A group of Dodgers spent part of the off day on Monday at Minnesota’s tourist-flytrap Mall of America. Some apparently spent time in an attraction called “The Escape Game,” using clues to find their way through the challenge.

It took longer for the offense to break out.

Playing in conditions that must have made them yearn for the strong winds of Coors Field over the weekend, the Dodgers were held to one run on three hits through the first seven soggy innings but scored six times in the eighth to beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-2, Tuesday night.

“I can only say so much because I was in the dugout with a heated vest on. But it was brutal. It was brutal,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Cold. Wet. Wind swirling.

“Just to get out of it knowing you have a game in less than 12 hours, to get out of it with a win I think was a huge boost for all of us.”

Afternoon showers stopped before the game started but left behind a 49-degree temperature at first pitch. The showers returned in mid-game and fans were told to take cover in the concourses because “incoming weather may include high winds and lightning.”

The players were not given that option and played on through the rain with 15-mph winds adding to the overall experience. A downpour in the bottom of the eighth inning caused an 88-minute delay before play resumed (in a nearly empty stadium) and the Dodgers closed out the victory – less than 12 hours before the scheduled first pitch of Wednesday’s game.

With Tuesday’s win, the Dodgers have scored 18 runs in the first four games this season – 14 of them in three individual innings.

“Well, you know what it’s capable of,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said of the offense’s sporadic appearance this season. “It’s been four games. We’ve done it in a couple innings. We need to spread it over a couple more so our hitting coaches don’t have a heart attack, you know what I mean?

“We’re getting there. The ABs were good tonight. A lot of walks. A lot of take the balls, swing at the strikes. Positive things are happening. … The gate’s about to open.”

The gate stayed firmly shut for the first seven innings Tuesday. The Dodgers’ first run came from the most potent part of their lineup so far – the bottom.

Cody Bellinger drew a walk and stole second base. Chris Taylor drew a walk to fill the vacated first base and the two moved up on a double steal. Gavin Lux drove Bellinger in with a 399-foot sacrifice fly to the warning track in straightaway center field.

The Dodgers stranded Taylor at third base that inning, one of four runners stranded in scoring position over the first seven innings – Lux doubled with two outs in the third, Freeman led off the fourth with a double and Taylor tripled with two outs in the seventh.

Those wasted opportunities were worrisome as the score remained tied 1-1 through seven innings. The first six batters reached base in the eighth, however, with walks – and Luis Arráez – again providing the fuel.

Mookie Betts and Freeman drew back-to-back walks to start the inning and Trea Turner bounced a single under the glove of Twins third baseman Arráez to break the tie. Max Muncy drew another walk to re-load the bases and Justin Turner sent an RBI single to right followed by a two-run double into the right-center gap from Will Smith.

Another run scored when Arráez misplayed another ground ball and Lux drove in the sixth run of the inning with a single.

“I don’t know how many walks we took today (nine) but there was a lot,” Roberts said. “Justin Turner going the other way for that hit was big. Will Smith going the other way was big. And I thought Gavin, again, just took four or five really good at-bats. Once we get those guys at the top of the order untracked, it’s going to be really fun to watch.”

The six-run deluge decided a game that didn’t always look like it would get completed.

Before the rains, the first test of the Andrew Heaney project went well.

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The left-hander pitched into the fifth inning, allowing just three hits and walking none while striking out five. He got 15 swings-and-misses including eight on the breaking ball the Dodgers have been trying to put a new spin on for Heaney.

“It couldn’t have went any better,” Roberts said of Heaney’s Dodger debut.

“That’s as much swing-and-miss as I recall him having with his breaking ball. That’s a very good hitting ballclub over there. … Hopefully it’s something he can keep building on.”

The Twins’ lone run against Heaney scored on an error by shortstop Trea Turner.

“It was good today,” Heaney said of his reconstructed slider. “Honestly, it was the first time I really threw it to hitters so it was kind of ‘Grip it and rip it.’”

Will Smith talks with @kirsten_watson about Andrew Heaney’s debut and that big six-run 8th inning in tonight’s #Dodgers win over the Twins. pic.twitter.com/U62OQgELNV

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 13, 2022

Will Smith 2-run double! #AlwaysLA pic.twitter.com/wAjl1zYKYw

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 13, 2022

Trea’s chopper gets through the infield to score Mookie and give the #Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the 8th! #AlwaysLA pic.twitter.com/ZilValXBEc

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 13, 2022

Dave Roberts reflects on Andrew Heaney’s Dodger debut and Gavin Lux’s hot start at the plate this season. pic.twitter.com/G4FOo6B1vy

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 13, 2022

Andrew Heaney (4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K) reacts to his first start with the #Dodgers that featured a new, effective slider. @kirsten_watson pic.twitter.com/XMenID4sSU

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) April 13, 2022