Byron Buxton is Back

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Baseball hasn’t come easy for Byron Buxton over the last month. Since May 7, the Minnesota Twins center fielder was batting .127 with a .448 OPS, entering Friday night’s contest vs the Toronto Blue Jays.

But with 18 of his teammates out of the lineup this weekend, the Twins needed their superstar to rise to the occasion. So that’s what he did. Buxton went 3-for-5 vs the Jays tonight. He missed the cycle by a triple and the Twins won 9-3.

Buxton is now hitting .310 since May 26, the day he broke his 0-for-30 skid, a hitless streak that lasted from May 18 through May 25. Hopefully, this is the coming out party we’ve been waiting for.

Long Weekend

Tonight won’t be the only night the Minnesota Twins will need Byron Buxton to produce this weekend. Max Kepler and a large chunk of the bullpen (Pagan, Thielbar, Megill) wasn’t allowed to cross the border, for unscientific reasons. Carlos Correa and Joe Ryan are out too, after testing positive last week. All of that, before we even get into injuries.

In fact, tonight may have been the easiest on Buxton. It’s the only night the Twins lineup will face a lefty, meaning Kyle Garlick will go back to his normal, human form. He hit two home runs off of Blue Jays lefty, Yusei Kikuchi, through two at bats Friday evening. Jose Miranda went deep twice too.

Win to Spite Media

I’ve never wanted the Minnesota Twins to win a regular season series in June more than I want them to beat up on the Toronto Blue Jays this weekend. Not because I hate the Blue Jays, but because I hate that they get to play home games against depleted rosters all season because Canada won’t let certain players into their country.

It also means we get to avoid more columns, tweets or rants from Judd Zulgad or Jim Souhan about how certain Twins players are letting their teammates down or dividing the locker room. So, if nothing else, the Twins who made it across the border are trying to win games to shut them up.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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