The Twins two all-stars played like, well, all-stars on Sunday. That was all they needed to dispatch one of the National League’s best teams on Sunday and with it, take a series victory.
Joe Ryan threw seven scoreless innings against a lineup that contains Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Luis Arraez, and Byron Buxton hit a home run, setting a new career high for a season, as the Twins routed the San Diego Padres 7-2 in the series finale at Target Field.
Ryan cruised through the Padres lineup, using a sinker-heavy approach to generate ground balls all day. His seven innings marked just the second time he has pitched that many inning post-all-star break. It was a big bounce back for the starter, who had given up a combined 11 runs in his past two starts.
“I think that was one of the better outings you’re going to see in Major League Baseball,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That’s what very good pitchers in this league are able to do, digging pretty deep at about the 100-plus pitch mark and getting a very good hitter (Fernando Tatis Jr.) to end the seventh inning. He was strong.”
He had plenty of offensive support throughout the day, starting in the third inning when Buxton hit his 29th home run, eclipsing the career high he set in 2022.
The Twins (62-74) added another run in the fourth inning and Buxton’s leadoff double in the fifth sparked a four-run inning in which they pulled away from San Diego (76-61). The game was also Buxton’s 103 of the season, which surpasses the number of games he played last season and is now the second-most for him in his career. Buxton also matched Max Kepler for the most home runs in Target Field history with the blast.
“I could care less about my career-high,” Buxton said of his 29 home runs. “In (26) more games, it’s different. I’ll be able to look back and reflect a little bit on what the season is and we can kind of go from there. But right now, I’ve still got more work to do.”
But while the center fielder didn’t seem to be too impressed with his new milestone, those around him that watch him every day sure were.
“It’s been a treat to just get to play with him my whole time here,” Ryan said. “He’s a special talent. We’ve always seen it but to put it together for this season is really special.”
Fitzgerald pitches in
Ryan Fitzgerald wasn’t quite expecting the ovation he got on Saturday night when he walked off the field, but he got one after retiring the side in the top of the ninth in order in the Twins’ 12-3 loss to the Padres.
In his first major league appearance on the mound, the infielder retired Arraez, Mason McCoy and Ryan O’Hearn in order, topping out at 68.8 miles per hour as he got a pop up to third and a couple fly outs to center.
“In the moment, it’s fun. Obviously it sucks having to come in when you’re losing like that,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve got guys that care here so you don’t want to be too happy about it but … the last position I need in pro ball is catcher now, so hopefully that doesn’t happen. It was interesting, for sure.”
Briefly
The MLB Ballpark app, which fans use to access tickets, went down across the country on Sunday morning but seemed to resolve before the Twins’ game started and the Twins announced a crowd of 26,956 fans. … Bailey Ober is set to start when the Twins take on the Chicago White Sox on Monday in a Labor Day matchup which will begin at 1:10 p.m. … Lynx teammates Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman — the Stud Budz — were on hand, throwing out the first pitch on Sunday. Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen was also in attendance. … The Twins will add two September call-ups to the roster on Monday.
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