Sunday was the anniversary of Byron Buxton’s major league debut for the Twins, and he celebrated — if one can say that — with three hits and a 5-4 win plus a series win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
On June 14, 2015, Buck, the Twins’ second overall pick of the 2012 draft, joined the team on the road at Texas and made an immediate impact — not with his bat, but his legs as he scored the game-winning run in a 4-3 victory over the Rangers.
The next day he collected his first major league hit, a triple, in a 3-2 loss to those Cardinals. The Star Tribune was there for both games.
The Twins’ prized rookie is touted as a five-tool player, but there was no doubt which one he showed off in his major league debut: speed. Major league speed. “He’s got a beautiful stride,” Twins manager Paul Molitor marveled after Buxton scored the winning run from first base in the ninth inning Sunday. “He runs like not too many people in this game.”
Buxton’s triple came against pitcher John Lackey.
Buxton lined a 1-2 fastball off Lackey into the left-center gap in the eighth inning, and by the time the Cardinals tracked it down, he was coasting into third base, despite stumbling — “almost getting sniped,” as he put it — around second base. Buxton scored a moment later on Brian Dozier’s sacrifice fly — that’s probably not the last time that combination will produce a run for the Twins — and received a rousing welcome in his dugout.
The Twins and Twins Territory were certainly thrilled to have Buxton then, and he’s about the only good thing to happen to the Twins this season because he’s on the verge of a having a career year. Through 61 games he is slashing .276/.336/.600 with 22 home runs.
The Twins are in Texas on Monday. A starter has not been named.
Extra innings…
–The Twins fell behind 4-2 on Sunday, but then strung together four straight hits in the 7th inning to tie the game at 4-4. Ryan Kreidler then doubled home the go-ahead run for the 5-4 win.
–Starter Taj Bradley exited with no decision, but he showed better form this time around he as he gave the Twins six-plus innings with four runs allowed on five hits, including two dingers. Still, he walked only one batter and fanned seven.
–The bullpen, too — the much maligned bullpen — followed Bradley with two-plus scoreless innings from Anthony Banda, Andrew Morris and Yoendrys Gomez, who appears to be the Twins’ regular closer if you ask me. He locked down his sixth save while rookie Morris picked up the win.
–Do they really want to play baseball in Las Vegas? If so, then pitchers need to have their wits about them because so far — in that dry air, apparently — it has been a launching pad for home runs.
On Sunday, the Rockies ran roughshod over the Athletics, hitting six home runs in a 23-9 win. Ex-Twin Willi Castro, hitting leadoff, went deep twice and drove in seven runs in the win.
Source: Newspapers.com