Twins' Byron Buxton celebrates bobblehead night by hitting for the cycle in win over Pirates

Yahoo

21 hours ago

Byron Buxton had his bobblehead day on Saturday — and decided to celebrate by putting on a show. The Minnesota Twins center fielder hit for the cycle in the Twins' 12-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, putting up a dominant performance in front of an appreciative home crowd.
Buxton achieve the feat in the seventh inning, after hitting a solo homer that went 447 feet into deep center. It's the first time that Buxton has hit for the cycle in his career.
Buxton opened the game with a leadoff single in the top of the first inning. Then, in the second, he hit a deep triple, and scored on the next play to give Minnesota a 4-0 lead. An RBI double from Buxton in the third inning sent Ty France home and brought the Twins' lead to 7-0.
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Buxton had another single in the fifth inning, but it was his seventh-inning homer that put him into the history books. In all, the center fielder ended the night with five hits in five at-bats, with two RBIs and three runs.
Buxton's cycle marks the second time this season that someone has hit for the cycle this season: Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly achieved the feat in March against the Athletics. It's a somewhat rare achievement in baseball, with less than 30 active players who have hit for the cycle in their careers.
Buxton's huge day anchored a strong performance from the Twins, who dominated the Pirates from the start. In addition to Buxton, second baseman Kody Clemens, designated hitter Matt Wallner and left fielder Willi Castro all hit home runs; Castro's homer came immeditately after Buxton's cycle-clinching one.
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After a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh on Friday, Minnesota is now one game away from completing a home sweep against the Pirates, giving them some momentum heading into the All-Star break.