Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa may be back on the active roster, but the Twins have made it clear that the two stars are not fully healthy.

Even knowing that, the Twins opted to bring them back “the earliest we reasonably could,” manager Rocco Baldelli said, to get as much help from the two stars as they could down the stretch. So, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to see both out of the starting lineup on Sunday, a game the Twins won even without the two big bats.

“When they could help us and when they could actually play, we brought them back,” Baldelli said. “And now we just have to make it work.”

And making it work will mean playing without Buxton (hip) and Correa (heel) on occasion and assessing how they’re doing on a daily basis to determine their availability.

Leaving them on the bench on Sunday, Baldelli said, should mean they’re ready to play on Monday when the Twins begin a big series against the division-leading Cleveland Guardians.

“We start with a plan, but then there are going to be days where it’s going to be decided a little later, where we might have an idea, but we want to check on them and see what they’re doing,” Baldelli said. “Believe me, this isn’t like a 100 percent type conversation. If they’re 100 percent, they’d play.”

Inherited runner woes

When Simeon Woods Richardson left Saturday night’s game, he left with the bases packed. Very quickly, all three of those runners scored.

It’s been an ongoing issue for the Twins this season, who have let the highest percentage of inherited runners score among all major league teams. Heading into Sunday’s action, 45 percent of inherited runners had scored off Twins relievers. League average was 33 percent.

“It hurts our starters, who are coming out of games and every baserunner, it feels like, at times, is scoring that they leave out there,”  Baldelli said before reliever Ronny Henriquez worked out of an inherited bases-loaded jam Sunday. “That’s hard. It’s frustrating. It’s difficult to wrap your head around.”

But Baldelli doesn’t necessarily have any theories as to why it’s happening, especially because it hasn’t been an issue in recent years. A season ago, Twins relievers were at 28 percent. In 2022, it was 29 percent.

“Process-wise, the way that we handle these guys when they come in the games, the way that we prepare our relievers when we come into games, that hasn’t changed a ton, and that doesn’t feel like that should be something that should be that out of whack,” Baldelli said. “But it has been.”

Briefly

The Twins had a handful of players wear No. 21 on Sunday in honor of Roberto Clemente Day across Major League Baseball. Those players included the Twins’ Puerto Rican players, as well as those who had been a finalist for the Roberto Clemente Award, which is given to the player who best exemplifies Clemente’s values and character on and off the field. Starting pitcher Pablo López is the Twins’ nominee this year.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli wouldn’t say that Sunday’s game was any more important than any other game.

This time of year, they all matter “an immense amount,” he said Sunday morning before the Twins beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-2 in the series finale at Target Field. But it sure felt like Sunday’s game was an extra important one for the Twins.

They were coming off two big losses to the Reds, a sub-.500 foe. The schedule only gets more challenging from here with a seven-game road trip beginning with four games in Cleveland against the division leaders starting Monday. And their lead in the American League Wild Card race would have been down to just 1 1/2 games if they had lost with Detroit winning earlier in the day.

So when the Twins’ offense finally broke through in the sixth inning, tying the score on Ryan Jeffers’ two-out double and taking the lead when Brooks Lee singled home a pair of runners, it gave the Twins a boost they so badly needed.

Lee helped put the game out of reach an inning later, delivering a bases-loaded triple to bring home three more runs in the most significant game of his young career. It was the first triple of Lee’s career and the first time he had driven in five runs in a game.

The triple came after Carlos Santana’s two-run homer — one of three hits for him on the day — had pushed the Twins’ lead to four at the time, giving the bullpen a comfortable cushion.

The Twins’ bullpen was unscored upon with three relievers — Ronny Henriquez, Cole Sands and Jorge Alcala — shutting down the Reds across the final 5 1/3 innings of the game.

It was a quick hook for Twins rookie pitcher David Festa, who topped 97 miles per hour in a third inning which featured three strikeouts but ran into trouble an inning later.

Festa gave up three hits to begin the inning — including a little dribbler that neither he nor catcher Ryan Jeffers fielded — and a sacrifice fly, producing the Reds’ only two runs of the game. Festa walked a pair of batters before turning the game over to Henriquez, who was able to escape the jam and hold the Reds right where they weret.

Not many people were ready to fully lean in last weekend despite how dominant the Vikings looked in their season opener.

Were the Vikings really that good or were the New York Giants really that bad?

A much bigger test existed for the Vikings this weekend with the San Francisco 49ers coming to town.

The performance the Vikings put together in a 23-17 win over the 49ers on Sunday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium proved that they are for real.

In the matchup, the Vikings looked like the better team from top to bottom, getting contributions for offense, defense, and special teams to pull off the upset. Or maybe it wasn’t an upset at all with how well the Vikings have looked so far.

In need of a spark early on, the Vikings got a blocked punt from veteran fullback C.J. Ham that gifted the offense good field position. Unfortunately for the Vikings, they couldn’t find the end zone and had to settle for a 22-yard field goal from rookie kicker Will Reichard to make it 3-0.

On the next possession, the 49ers put together a sustained drive, going the length of the field before facing a fourth down near the goal line. The defense for the Vikings came up with a big stop as edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel deflected a ball near the line of scrimmage before veteran safety Harrison Smith finished the play with a pass breakup.

A few plays later, Darnold dropped back to pass in the shadow of his own goal post, stepped up into the pocket, and launched the ball into the heavens. It dropped into the outstretched arms of Jefferson, who hauled it in with ease, then weaved his way through the open field for a 97-yard touchdown to stretched the lead to 10-0.

Though it looked like the Vikings might be about to put the game away, a costly interception by Darnold on the next drive kept things interesting, and the 49ers made them pay when quarterback Brock Purdy found tight end George Kittle for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 10-7.

Credit the Vikings for staying aggressive at that point. Instead of putting a leash on Darnold after his interception, head coach Kevin O’Connell trusted him to get some points before halftime, and Reichard nailed a 39-yard field goal as time expired to make it 13-7.

After an interception by safety Josh Metellus shortly after halftime, the Vikings to complete control on the very next play as Darnold found receiver Jalen Nailor wide open in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown that made it 20-7.

There was a chance for the Vikings to put the game away once again following another interception near midfield. This time the veteran running back Aaron Jones coughed the ball up at the 1-yard — the play after Jefferson left the game with a quad injury — to keep the game without reach.

Naturally, the 49ers responded with a big drive to cut the deficit to 20-14, putting the ball in Darnold’s hands with a chance to make a statement.

What followed was an gutsy drive from Darnold — without Jefferson, without fellow receiver Jordan Addison, and without star tight end T.J. Hockenson — that culminated with a big field goal from Reichard to make it 23-14.

Though the 49ers got a field goal of their own to cut the deficit to 23-17, tight end Nick Muse recovered an onside kick for the Vikings, and Darnold kneeled out the clock to put the finishing touches on a very impressive win.

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