Buxton hits for the cycle on his bobblehead day as twins beat pirates, 12-4
Buxton hit a single in the first inning, a triple in the second, and a double in the third. He singled again in the fifth before stepping to the plate in the seventh for one more chance at the first cycle ever at Target Field, which opened in 2010. Facing Pirates reliever Andrew Heaney, Buxton hit a solo homer 427 feet to center field to complete the cycle – and send Target Field into a frenzy. His timing was perfect, too: Saturday's giveaway at the stadium was a Buxton bobblehead of his Buck Truck home run celebration. Buxton's homer came two days before the Home Run Derby, in which he'll participate in his home state of Georgia at Truist Park in Atlanta.
Kody Clemens hit a three-run homer in the Twins' six-run second inning. Matt Wallner and Willi Castro each hit solo homers, with Castro's coming right after Buxton's momentous blast. Cole Sands threw two hitless innings as Minnesota's opening pitcher. Reliever Travis Adams (1-0) gave up two hits and two runs – one unearned – in four innings to pick up his first career win in his second major league appearance. Pirates starter Mike Burrows (1-3) recorded just four outs before he was lifted in his shortest start of the year. Jack Suwinski homered for the Pirates, who lost their eighth straight game.
Key moment: Buxton's cycle was the highlight of the game, but it was Clemens' blast that opened the floodgates in the Twins' six-run second inning.
Key stat: Buxton became the 12th player in Twins history to hit for the cycle.
Up next: RHP Mitch Keller (3-10, 3.58 ERA) starts Pittsburgh's final game before the All-Star break. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.08) takes the mound Sunday for the Twins.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Shohei Ohtani to hit leadoff for NL in all-star game, followed by ronald acuña jr. of host braves
Shohei Ohtani will bat leadoff as the designated hitter for the National League in Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Truist Park, and the Los Angeles Dodgers star will be followed in the batting order by left fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. of the host Atlanta Braves. Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte will hit third in the batting order announced Monday by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, followed by Los Angeles first baseman Freddie Freeman, San Diego third baseman Manny Machado, Dodgers catcher Will Smith, Chicago Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker, New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Pittsburgh right-hander Paul Skenes will start his second straight All-Star Game, Major League Baseball announced last week. Detroit left-hander Tarik Skubal will make his first All-Star start for the American League. Detroit second baseman Gleyber Torres will lead off for the AL, followed by Tigers left fielder Riley Greene, New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh, Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Baltimore designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn, Tampa Bay third baseman Junior Caminero, Tigers center fielder Javy Báez, and Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson. Ohtani led off for the AL in the 2021 All-Star Game when the two-way sensation also was the AL's starting pitcher. He hit leadoff in 2022, then was the No. 2 hitter for the AL in 2023 and for the NL last year after leaving the Los Angeles Angels for the Dodgers. Skenes and Skubal are 1-2 in average four-seam fastball velocity among those with 1500 or more pitches this season, Skenes at 98.2 mph and Skubal at 97.6 mph according to MLB Statcast. A 23-year-old right-hander, Skenes is 4-8 despite a major league-best 2.01 ERA for the Pirates, who are last in the NL Central. The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year has 131 strikeouts and 30 walks in 131 innings. Skubal, a 28-year-old left-hander, is the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. He is 10-3 with a 2.23 ERA striking out 153 and walking 16 in 121 innings.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
The SEC and Big Ten are currently at a standstill over the college football playoff format
Atlanta: Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday that despite frequent conversations with Big Ten counterpart Tony Petitti, the two leagues have yet to agree on the College Football Playoff format after this upcoming season and could leave it at 12 teams. The disagreement doesn't stem from a lack of communication. Sankey said he spoke with Petitti four times last week. 'We had a different view coming out of Destin around the notion of allocations,' Sankey said. 'The Big Ten has a different view. That's fine. We have a 12-team playoff, five conference champions. That could stay if we can't agree.' The Big Ten, which has won the last two national championships, favors a 4-4-2-2-1 format, giving four automatic bids to the SEC and Big Ten and awarding the ACC and Big 12 two bids apiece. The SEC, originally thought to be on the same page, switched gears at its spring meetings in Destin. The SEC favors five conference champions and 11 at-large bids, which would presumably favor the top conferences most seasons. The CFP announced in May that teams in the upcoming playoff will be seeded strictly on where they are ranked instead of moving pieces around to reward conference champions. Last season's jumbled bracket, the first with 12 teams, gave byes to Big 12 champion Arizona State and Mountain West champion Boise State even though they were ranked 12th and ninth respectively by the playoff selection committee. That system made the rankings and the seedings in the tournament two different things. The five highest-ranked conference champions will still be guaranteed spots in the playoff. While the CFP contract from 2026 through the 2031 season requires the SEC and Big Ten to consult other leagues about prospective changes to the playoff system, it also provides them with the ability to impose changes they both want. Now it's a matter of getting on the same page. 'I think there's this notion that there has to be this magic moment and something has to happen with expansion and it has to be forced – no,' Sankey said. 'When you're given authority, you want to be responsible in using that authority. I think both of us are prepared to do so.' The upfront responsibility in this, maybe where some of the confusion lies, is we have the ability to present a format or format ideas, gather information, see if we can all agree within that room. We don't need unanimity.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Fred Warner Is Voted the Top Off-ball Linebacker in the NFL by AP Writers
Warner's strong all-around play for San Francisco helped him win the honor of being voted the top off-ball linebacker in the league by The Associated Press. A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at off-ball linebacker basing selections on current status entering the 2025 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second- through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2, and 1 points. Warner got seven of the eight first-place votes to go with one second to win the voting easily. Three other players were selected on all eight ballots with Baltimore's Roquan Smith getting the other first-place vote to come in second, Philadelphia's Zack Baun finishing third, and Washington's Bobby Wagner coming in fourth. Indianapolis' Zaire Franklin rounded out the top five. New Orleans' Demario Davis, Denver's Dre Greenlaw, Minnesota's Blake Cashman, and Pittsburgh's Patrick Queen also received votes. 1. FRED WARNER, San Francisco 49ers–Despite playing most of last season with a broken bone in his ankle, Warner still performed at a high level and earned his third straight and fourth overall first-team All-Pro honor. Warner had 131 tackles, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, seven passes defensed, and four forced fumbles last season. Warner has 10 sacks, 10 interceptions, 15 forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, 36 tackles for loss, and 53 passes defensed in his first seven seasons. He is one of three active players with at least 10 sacks, interceptions, and forced fumbles along with Minnesota safety Harrison Smith and Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David. 2. ROQUAN SMITH, Baltimore Ravens–The midseason trade in 2022 that sent Smith from Chicago to Baltimore helped lift the Ravens' defense by solidifying the middle of the field. In 41 games with Baltimore, Smith has 398 tackles, five sacks, three interceptions, and 15 passes defensed as he has earned first-team All-Pro honors the past three seasons. 3. ZACK BAUN, Philadelphia Eagles–After struggling to get on the field on defense as an edge rusher his first four seasons in New Orleans, Baun was a revelation at linebacker in his first year with the Eagles. He had 151 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks, and one interception in the regular season and also had a pick against Patrick Mahomes in the Eagles' Super Bowl win. Baun earned All-Pro honors, finished fifth in voting for the AP Defensive Player of the Year award, and cashed in with a three-year 51 million deal in the offseason. 4. BOBBY WAGNER, Washington Commanders–Coach Dan Quinn brought his former linebacker from Seattle to Washington in his first season as coach of the Commanders for veteran leadership. Wagner, who turned 35 last month, showed he can still perform at a high level. Wagner had his 13th straight season with at least 100 tackles and earned his fifth second-team All-Pro selection to go along with six first-team picks. Only Reggie White (13) and Jim Otto (12) have been picked as a first or second-team All-Pro more than Wagner. 5. ZAIRE FRANKLIN, Indianapolis Colts–Franklin led the NFL with 173 tackles last season becoming the second player since at least 2000 with three straight seasons with at least 165 tackles. His 518 tackles in three seasons since becoming a full-time starter in 2022 are the most in the NFL in that span.
