It’s Buxton’s world and we’re all just living it.
There are few things in the world better than healthy Byron Buxton. Today, he proved that once again, hitting the Twins’ first cycle since 2019 and the first one in Target Field history.
Buxton started his afternoon with hard hit infield single but the Twins couldn’t bring him home. He came up again in the second inning after Kody Clemens’ three-run blast to put the Twins on top. Buxton followed with his fourth triple of the season as part of a six run inning and team intra-inning cycle thanks to multiple singles and a Brooks Lee double.
Buxton came up again in the next inning, this time launching an RBI ground rule double to left field. For those of you counting at home, that left Buck a homer short of the cycle with six innings to play against a bad Pirates team. Time to feast.
Buck’s first shot at history came in the fifth when all he did was hit a 103 MPH single to left. With the Twins up big and a busy All-Star week ahead of him, I was worried Rocco Baldelli would pull Buxton after the at-bat, but Rocco gave Buck one last chance in the seventh inning. Andrew Heaney hung a breaking ball, and Cory Provus can tell you the rest.
After all that, Buxton ended his day with a five hit cycle with three runs scored and two RBI. Absolutely electric.
Byron Buxton is the All-Star. The MVP candidate. The very lifeblood of the Minnesota Twins organization. He’s the reason I (and probably you, as well) refuse to give up on this team despite all the signs pointing that direction.
You try telling that guy the Twins should be sellers at the trade deadline.
Willi Castro had a standout game of his own, adding three hits and a homer of his own, while bulk pitcher Travis Adams showed significant improvement from his first appearance in the Big Leagues. At the end of the day though, this one’s about Buck.
The Twins won this game handily and clinched their third series win in a row ahead of the break. Win one more tomorrow and the Twins will be at .500 and right back in the thick of the playoff race with Zebby Matthews’ and Luke Keaschall’s returns imminent and Pablo Lopez (hopefully) not far behind. It’s now or never.
STUDS
- BYRON BUXTON: 5-5, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, AND A CYCLE
- Willi Castro: 3-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
- Kody Clemens: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI
- Matt Wallner: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI
DUDS
- Me, for writing 90% of an article about why the Twins should sell at the trade deadline. Thank you for proving me wrong, Twins!
We’ll see you back here tomorrow for the final game of the first half!