{"id":285335,"date":"2024-08-05T08:59:58","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T13:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=285335"},"modified":"2024-08-05T08:59:59","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T13:59:59","slug":"minnesota-twins-bats-erupt-in-white-sox-rout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=285335","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Twins’ Bats Erupt In White Sox Rout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MINNEAPOLIS — Not only did the 28,302 fans in attendance at Target Field roar and rise to their feet once they saw Byron Buxton<\/a> peel himself off the warning track in right-center field and jog back in, but the Twins emerged from the first-base dugout and onto the field to greet their center fielder and applaud his effort after a highlight-reel grab and collision with the wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Buxton didn\u2019t emerge for his subsequent plate appearance, all indications are that he\u2019s OK — and with that, the Twins avoided perhaps the only thing that could have spoiled the good vibes of Sunday\u2019s series finale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Royce Lewis was at the center of the Twins\u2019 six-run second inning with a three-run blast tucked inside the right-field foul pole, which helped Minnesota cruise to a big early lead, a\u00a013-7 victory<\/a>\u00a0over the White Sox and a sweep of the three-game series as the Twins look to build momentum and ride their stars into a big four-game clash with Cleveland next weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s a very important stretch for us,” starter Simeon Woods Richardson said. “And this is the time where everyone needs to focus up, lock in and take it one pitch at a time.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Twins ran their winning streak to four games by extending the White Sox losing streak to 20 games, one shy of matching the American League record set by the 1988 Orioles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though they built an early lead with a two-run first and the six-run second, involving run-scoring knocks by five different players to take advantage of wildness from White Sox starter Chris Flexen, they needed all that run support to fend off a persistent Chicago attack against the Twins\u2019 bullpen depth after a four-inning start from Woods Richardson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lewis has been a catalyst of this winning streak with a team-leading eight RBIs across the four victories, including four on Friday and three more on Sunday, when he followed a 113.2 mph double by Buxton — his hardest-hit ball of the season — with a three-run shot that marked Lewis\u2019 13th homer in 33 games this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have to [take] what’s thrown at you,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cThey’re throwing, it seems like, away. That’s the approach from the league right now, which is great, because I like my numbers right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Twins\u2019 core seems to be coalescing at the right time, with Carlos Correa also on the mend from his plantar fasciitis — needing to sprint without pain before heading out on a rehab assignment — and Buxton adamant that he was doing fine after his exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel fine,\u201d Buxton said. \u201cStanding, smiling, so that\u2019s always good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s significant for the Twins because of what Buxton has meant to the core of this team this season, as his health has allowed him to play 85 games — fifth-most on the team — while Correa and Lewis have combined for 108.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only has Buxton played his customary center-field defense, but his 136\u00a0wRC+<\/a>\u00a0entering the day ranked sixth among all AL outfielders with at least 300 plate appearances this season — and that\u2019s not to mention the infectious energy that he and Lewis bring to the table when they\u2019re both playing at their best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt makes the team feel like our muscles are bigger, you know what I mean?\u201d manager Rocco Baldelli said. \u201cHe singlehandedly does these types of things because he just makes us better and the energy that he brings \u2026 [guys] feel it in a big way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe never ceases to amaze us,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cHe’s always doing stuff like that. I tell everyone he’s the most athletic person I’ve ever seen play the game of baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Lewis and Buxton at the core, the supporting cast like Jose Miranda (three hits), Willi Castro (three hits, three RBIs) and Matt Wallner (RBI triple and three walks) continued to step up to help the Twins finish the season with a 12-1 record against the White Sox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

File Sunday as another example of what the Twins have preached since their relative inactivity at Tuesday\u2019s Trade Deadline: They have the pieces in place for consistency and upside — and they\u2019ve just got to stay healthy and realize it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to stop focusing on what the outside help might have looked like and just focus on what we have in-house,\u201d Correa said. \u201cIf everybody tries to get better throughout these last two months \u2026 it\u2019s all in-house. I think we have the talent to win it all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS — Not only did the 28,302 fans in attendance at Target Field roar and rise to their feet once they saw Byron Buxton peel himself off the warning track in right-center field and jog back in, but the Twins emerged from the first-base dugout and onto the field to greet their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":274823,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-285335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=285335"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":285336,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285335\/revisions\/285336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/274823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=285335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=285335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=285335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}