On the day the Joe Mauer statue was unveiled outside of Target Field, Byron Buxton and Simeon Woods Richardson led the Minnesota Twins to a 5-1 victory on Sunday in Minneapolis.
“That was a great day at the ballpark,” Manager Rocco Baldelli said to the media postgame. “It was a very thorough [and] complete game in a lot of ways. We went out there, faced a good pitcher, and had some great at-bats.”
Here are takeaways from the Twins’ huge win over the Tigers.
Buxton headlined the Twins’ powerful offensive display
With one out in the first inning, Buxton, who went 2-for-4, worked a full count and gave the Twins a 1-0 lead on a 399-foot home run to left field off Tigers starting pitcher Casey Mize. The Twins center fielder continued his strong day at the plate by using his wheels and hitting a double on a sharp ground ball to left field before coming around to score on a Ty France RBI single in the sixth inning.
“[Buxton] had a really big day. I mean, those swings were fantastic,” Baldelli said. “Watching him just basically hit a line drive to left field and be on second base. It’s a beautiful thing. The swing earlier in the game was the same.”
Buxton’s stellar day at the plate is a good sign for a Twins offense near the bottom of the league in multiple categories. Buxton entered the game on Sunday hitting .167/.231/33, but is now hitting .192/.250/.423.
Before France, who continued his offensive resurgence by going 2-for-4 Sunday, drove in Buxton in the sixth, Edouard Julien hit a splitter up and away in the zone to the opposite field for a solo home run to lead off the inning.
Julien started the season 3-for-18 but now has a six-game hitting streak, including a three-hit game against the Tigers last Friday.
“I think Eddie [Julien] looks really good right now. I think he's very comfortable at the plate. I think he’s seeing the ball very well," Baldelli said. "I think he’s looking for pitches in different parts of the zone. He’s on heaters, he’s on off-speed pitches. He drives the ball very well to the opposite field, and when you see him doing that, you know he’s in a nice spot.”
Brooks Lee made an immediate impact upon return from rehab assignment
With two outs in the second inning, Brooks Lee hit an RBI single up the middle in his first major league at-bat of the season to extend the Twins’ lead to 2-0.
The return of Lee, who went 3-for-10 in three games for St. Paul this year, could’ve been just what the doctor ordered for Minnesota.
“[Lee] has a big swing. He can hold things down at different spots on the field defensively,” Baldelli said. “You can just see the way he plays the game. You see the game clock and the comfort level that he plays these different positions with. He doesn’t rush, knows where he’s at, and knows what he needs to do. He stepped right in and contributed, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Willi Castro looked solid at the plate, notching a pair of singles.
Additionally, Matt Wallner got back on track by hitting an opposite-field RBI double in the eighth inning to give the Twins a 5-1 lead.
The only real cause for concern from the Twins’ offense Sunday was Ryan Jeffers (.492) and Trevor Larnach (.487) going hitless.
Twins pitching dominated against the Tigers on Sunday
“Every pitcher we handed the ball to today threw the ball exceptionally well,” Baldelli said.
The Twins' manager wasn’t lying.
Besides allowing a solo home run off the bat of Spencer Torkelson in the fourth inning, Simeon Woods Richardson shut down the Tigers’ offense with five strikeouts in five innings of work before Louie Varland struck out the side in the sixth inning.
Griffin Jax also struck out the side in the eighth inning following a scoreless inning from Cole Sands. Jhoan Duran ended the game by collecting one strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.
The Twins are scheduled to begin a three-game set against the New York Mets, with Game 1 slated to start at 6:40 p.m. on Monday at Target Field.