The Twins entered this weekend’s series against National League border rival Milwaukee with some torrid hitters. Over the previous 18 games, Byron Buxton, Willi Castro and Brooks Lee were all hitting better than .330 with a combined 12 home runs and 32 RBIs.
Lee entered Friday night’s 7:10 p.m. first pitch at Target Field with an 18-game hitting streak, his best since making his major league debut last season — and the team’s longest since Brian Dozier hit safely in 24 straight games over the end of the 2022 season and the beginning of the 2023 season.
“He’s got a better idea of what he’s trying to accomplish at the plate as a hitter, and that is getting better over time,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.
Since May 28, Lee is hitting .338 with three home runs, 11 RBIs and an OPS of .872. He has more than one hit in five of those games and has raised his average from .230 to .267.
“He doesn’t just want to be a swing-first player, when you go up to the plate you’re gonna swing, and you’re gonna swing again the next pitch and bank on bat-to-ball ability to get the job done,” Baldelli said. “You can only be so good of a hitter if you’re going to swing at a lot of different pitches, and swing outside the zone.
“I think he’s just getting more selective, which is putting him in a much better spot.”
Over Buxton’s previous 18 games, he hit .333 with six homers, 19 RBIs and 11 walks. Castro is hitting .356 with three home runs, 10 RBIs and a 1.470 OPS. It’s not doing the Twins a ton of good in the standings, however.
The Twins, once second in the American League Central, 4.5 games behind Detroit, started the weekend in third place, 10 games out, after 10 losses in their past 16 games. Since starting that stretch with three straight wins over the A’s in Sacramento, they have gone 3-10 while being outscored 84-61.
Since Pablo Lopez went to the 15-day injured list June 5 with a teres major strain in his shoulder — he has since been transferred to the 60-day IL — the Twins are on Plan B in two of their rotation spots. Second-year right-hander Zebby Matthews was called up May 18 after Simeon Woods Richardson was demoted, but his move to the IL (shoulder) on June 5 has the Twins using Woods Richardson and David Festa, who also made his MLB debut last season, for the second and third games of this series.
Matthews was 1-1 with a 5.21 earned-run average in four starts (19 innings) with eight walks and 25 strikeouts. Since his return, Woods Richardson has allowed seven runs, six earned, in two starts, allowing nine hits and walking four in 9 2/3 innings. In three June starts, Festa is 1-1 after allowing 12 earned runs in 13 1/3 innings (6.66 ERA) on 11 hits and seven walks. He has fanned 14.
Injuries updates
Third baseman Royce Lewis, on the 10-day injured list since June 14 with a left hamstring strain, began a running program before Friday night’s game.
Matthews played catch Friday for the first time in his rehabilitation routine.
Designated hitter Trevor Larnach was scratched from Friday’s game and replaced with Ryan Jeffers because of a contusion on his right hand where he was hit by a pitch in Thursday afternoon’s victory at Cincinnati.
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