Now that’s more like it.
The Byron Buxton show was on full display Saturday as the outfielder returned to his spot at the top of the order. And he didn’t miss a beat, cranking out four hits, including a double and home run, in four trips to the plate to pace the Twins to a 9-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.
Buxton’s performance was contagious because Luis Arraez followed him with four hits of his own and drove in three runs. Buxton and Arraez accounted for eight of the Twins’ 14 hits on Saturday. The top of the order was productive and so was the bottom as catcher Ryan Jeffers also homered and doubled in the game.
The starting pitching, meanwhile, continues to be strong. I was critical of the Twins when they signed pitcher Dylan Bundy, who pitched to a 6.06 ERA last season, but look at Bundy now. He scattered four hits over five innings and is now 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA.
Relievers Cody Stashak and Caleb Thielbar, who struck out the side in the ninth, also had improved outings.
Chris Archer gets the ball Sunday.
Extra innings…
-Now that the Twins have a three-game winning streak they are 7-8 in the American League Central, which is good enough for second place behind the 7-7 Cleveland Guardians.
-Although Buxton and Arraez continue to impress, Miguel Sano is really struggling at the plate. Sano struck out three times in five at bats and is hitting a woeful .068.
-On April, 23, 1980, the Twins were shellacked 17-0 by the California Angels before only 4,700 fans at the Met. Not only were they blown out, they almost were no-hit by Angels pitcher Bruce Kison. The Twins’ Ken Landreaux broke up the no-hit bid with a double in the ninth inning.
Rod Carew, now with the Angels, hit two doubles against his old team.
“We left our alert at home today,” said Manager Gene Mauch to the Minneapolis Tribune, the reporter describing the quote as a “fitting massacre of precise English.”
Four days later, though, the Twins would take out their frustrations on the Oakland A’s, beating them 20-11, including a 10-run first inning.
Source: Newspapers.com, Baseball-Reference.com