It may not seem like it, especially since they went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, but there are a lot of positives to take from the Twins’ 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
"Our guys played their butts out there tonight," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said to the media postgame. "They really did... I was pleased with the way that we competed."
Byron Buxton is on fire at the plate
After going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts against the New York Mets last Monday, Buxton was hitting a mere .179/.233/.393.
Since then, the Twins’ star center fielder has gone 7-for-17, raising his slash line to .233/.269/.425. He collected two singles, a triple and an RBI in the Twins’ 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
It looked like Buxton would notch his fourth hit of the night when he hit a 378-foot rocket (104 mph) to center field with runners on first and third in the top half of the sixth inning.
However, Michael Harris III, who pulled a solo home run to right field in the bottom half of the inning, had other plans, running a perfect route to track down the ball for the second out of the inning, allowing Brooks Lee to score and give the Twins a 3-2 lead.
Carlos Correa has also looked formidable at the plate in Atlanta so far. He hit an opposite-field home run off Sale in the fourth inning Saturday and collected two hits Friday.
Luke Keaschall is impressing early
In the top of the first inning, Keaschall hit an RBI double (100 mph) to left field off Chris Sale, driving in Buxton, who reached on an infield single.
Saturday's box score says Keaschall, the Twins’ No. 3 prospect according to MLB.com, had one hit. However, he followed Buxton’s 104 mph sacrifice fly with a hard-hit out of his own, hitting the ball 380 feet (101.5 mph) to Harris in center field.
Yesterday, Keaschall collected an RBI single (55 mph) to the opposite field off Bryce Elder in his first major league at-bat. He later got another hit off Elder, a groundball double to left field.
Brock Stewart returned
The Twins announced Stewart rejoined the Twins’ major league roster on Saturday morning. Left-handed relief pitcher Kody Funderburk was sent down to Triple-A St. Paul as a corresponding move.
On Saturday, Stewart made his first appearance since July 29, 2024, entering in the sixth inning with one out and runners on first and third. He immediately gave up an RBI single (104 mph) to Alex Verdugo, who went 4-for-5 with two doubles on Saturday, but finished the inning by striking out Austin Riley swinging and inducing a hard ground out (109 mph) from Marcell Ozuna.
When he’s healthy, Stewart is one of the Twins’ best options out of the back end of the bullpen.
The series finale of the Twins’ three-game set with the Atlanta Braves is set to start at 12:35 p.m. CST on Sunday at Truist Park in Atlanta.