PITTSBURGH — Pedro Alvarez hit a majestic home run that wound up landing in a boat docked along the Allegheny River beyond the right-field stands at PNC Park.

Yet the Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman couldn’t enjoy it as his team fell behind by seven runs in the second inning and lost 8-5 to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday for its fifth defeat in six games.

“It’s nice to put a good swing on the ball but losing kind of trumps everything,” Alvarez said.

His 461-foot blast was his seventh of the season. Alvarez joined Houston’s Daryle Ward (2002) and Pittsburgh’s Garrett Jones (2013) as the only players to hit balls on the fly into the river since PNC Park opened in 2001.

Francisco Liriano (1-4) gave up a solo home run to Brian Dozier in the first inning and a two-run shot to Trevor Plouffe that capped a six-run second as he lost his third straight starts. Liriano gave up seven runs and five hits in two innings against the Twins, the team he played with for eight seasons from 2005-12 to begin his career.

“Command was an issue,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “These guys pour themselves into everything they do for the four days (between starts) and it’s hard to have to go up to a guy and pull him after two innings.”

Dozier, who has a 10-game hitting streak, also scored all the way from first base on Joe Mauer’s three-run single during a six-run second inning as the Twins built an early 7-0 lead.

Left fielder Starling Marte was late getting to the ball that dropped in short left-center field and Dozier raced home all the way from first base and beat a throw that was well off target.

“How about that? A three-run single,” Mauer said with a grin. “That was a great piece of baserunning by (Dozier).”

Josh Harrison and rookie Jung Ho Kang each had three hits of the Pirates’ 13 hits while Neil Walker and Alvarez each had two.

Plouffe, Kurt Suzuki and Aaron Hicks each had two hits for the Twins, who won for the third time in four games.

Ricky Nolasco (4-1) made it through 5 1-3 shaky innings to win his fourth straight start since being on the disabled list with elbow inflammation. He gave up four runs — three earned — and 10 hits and has yet to pitch into the sixth inning in any of his five starts this season.

Glen Perkins recorded his 14th save in as many opportunities.