The plaza outside Gate 34 at Target Field got a bit more crowded on Sunday as the Twins unveiled an 8-foot bronze statue of Hall of Fame catcher Joe Mauer.

At a pregame ceremony on the sun-drenched plaza, Mauer was joined by numerous former teammates, including Paul Molitor, Glen Perkins, Corey Koskie and Justin Morneau. Former Twins manager Tom Kelly read the text of a plaque that accompanies the statue.

Then Mauer’s children — twin daughters Maren and Emily, and son Chip — pulled off a black drop cloth to reveal the statue of their dad cast by local artist Bill Mack.

Mauer is depicted in full catcher’s gear, arm raised as if to throw out a would-be base stealer. Twins historian and curator Clyde Doepner had saved the gear Mauer wore during his 2009 MVP season and shared it with Mauer and Mack for the project.

“This means a lot more to me than you guys will ever know,” said Mauer, who noted he was glad he’d worn sunglasses, and not just because of the bright blue sky. “A lot of emotions right now.”

The statue is the eighth to be installed outside the ballpark, joining those honoring Kirby Puckett, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Kelly and former owners Carl and Eloise Pohlad.

Miranda, Lee trade places

One day after committing a baserunning blunder emblematic of the Twins’ early-season struggles, Jose Miranda found himself once again a member the Triple-A St Paul Saints.

Infielder Brooks Lee was reinstated from the injured list after Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the Tigers, so the Twins needed to clear a roster spot.

Miranda might have made the decision easier during the game when he slid short of second base and then began walking off the field, not realizing that the Tigers’ infielder had not stepped on the bag. Miranda was tagged out and one of the day’s few rallies fizzled.

After the game, manager Rocco Baldelli focused on the need to play better in all phases of the game, and that a “shock” might be coming to wake up the clubhouse. But on Sunday, he noted that nobody was making Miranda the scapegoat.

“I would never point to sending a guy down as being a wakeup call for the rest of the group. If anyone takes it like that or … [it] maybe opens someone’s eyes out there, so be it,” Baldelli said.

Miranda, who last season tied the MLB record with hits in 12 consecutive at-bats, is one of many Twins players off to a slow start at the plate. He was hitting just .167 (6 for 36) with one home run, no walks and 13 strikeouts.

“I had a pretty thorough conversation with Jose Miranda when we sent him out,” Baldelli said. “I had a couple of different messages for him. It’s time for him to go down, play well and get his season rolling.”

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For one day, at least, the litany of woes that have plagued the Twins in 2025 felt like distant memories.

After losing six of their previous seven games, the Twins bounced back in style on Sunday, clicking in all phases of the game in a 5-1 win over Detroit.

You like pitching? Simeon Woods Richardson struck out five and gave up just Spencer Torkelson’s solo home run over the first five innings. Then the bullpen came in and buried the Tigers. Louis Varland struck out the side in the sixth, and Griffin Jax matched him in the eighth. In between, Cole Sands pitched around a one-out walk. Jhoan Duran then put the Tigers down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

How about hitting? The Twins flashed power — solo homers by Byron Buxton in the first inning and Edouard Julien in the sixth — and they hit in the clutch, with Brooks Lee’s two-out single putting the Twins up 2-0 in the second.

Fielding has also hurt the Twins. But on this day, they made all the routine plays and one spectacular one when they needed it most. With one on and one out in the seventh, pinch hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy lofted a high fly down the left field line. Harrison Bader raced over and made a diving catch, short-circuiting a potential rally while the Twins clung to a three-run lead.

“That was a great day at the ballpark,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think that’s a very good version of our club. That’s what our club looks like. This is the way we play. That’s a game I’ve seen many times before from this group, and that’s the game we’re looking for. And we want to play a whole lot of games like that.”

Buxton jump-started the offense with a solo homer to left in the first, and he played a big role in manufacturing the Twins’ fourth run. After Julien’s leadoff homer in the sixth, Buxton hit a line drive to left field. For 99.9% of human beings, it would have been a single. But Buxton never broke stride and cruised into second with a double.

He moved to third on Willi Castro’s infield single, which rolled about 15 feet and died between pitcher Casey Mize and catcher Dillon Dingler. Two batters later, Buxton scored when the Tigers couldn’t handle Ty France’s chopper up the middle. That gave France nine hits and six RBIs in his last five games.

The stretch double was a reminder of what a healthy Buxton can mean to this team.

“I feel good,” Buxton said. “To be able to be healthy and do the things you want to do on the baseball field, gives you a sense of peace of mind to just go out and play the game the right way.”

Baldelli had an inkling that Buxton might be ready to break out.

“Buck came rolling on in today with a big smile on his face,” he said. “You never know what the future holds. But [third base coach Tommy Watkins] might have said to us today in the dugout that Buck is going to catch a heater right now and start going. … The oracle, Tommy Watkins.”

Of course, this was just one game. The trick will be finding ways to duplicate the effort far more frequently than they’ve done so far this year. Buxton said the team’s unity will play a big part in righting the ship.

“Today it was just a team thing, everybody picking each other up,” he said. “We’ve been not having the season that we want to, so a big part of us getting back is making sure that we’ve got each other’s back.”

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The Gophers men’s basketball program kept up its busy April in the NCAA transfer portal on Sunday.

Northern Colorado guard Langston Reynolds committed to Minnesota, becoming the fifth incoming player for new coach Niko Medved. The Denver native and to-be-senior has one year of eligibility remaining for the 2025-26 season.

“Let’s work,” Reynolds posted on social media.

Reynolds also visited Texas A&M after entering the portal in late March, but it’s unclear what other programs were pursuing him.

At 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, Reynolds’ best attribute appears to be his scoring ability. He averaged 16.0 points on 59% from the field —which ranked 20th in the country — as well as 67% from the line and 41% from 3-point range last season. He also put up 5.6 rebounds, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 turnovers per game.

Reynolds has been a strong, athletic finisher near the rim, but only averaged 1.6 3-point attempts last season.

Reynolds showed huge development across his three years and, and last season, helped lead Northern Colorado to the Big Sky Conference co-regular season championship.

“I worked myself every day,” Reynolds said about the previous offseason during an interview with Pro Insight. “Shot a basketball every day, dribbled a ball, did something, worked on my body. I had to believe in myself that I could be a really good player in this league and probably the best.”

Minnesota is now down to five open roster spots for next season.

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The Gophers football program picked up a commitment from Utah prep receiver Kai Meza on Saturday night.

“Extremely blessed,” Meza wrote in his pledge post on social media.

During his junior year at Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah, Meza posted 46 receptions for 944 yards and 13 touchdowns. Corner Canyon is a powerhouse, which won the 6A state championship last season and has produced quarterbacks Zach Wilson (BYU) and Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss).

Meza, who is listed at 6 feet and 175 pounds, had offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Utah, Washington State and others. He is considered a three-star recruit and the 15th best player in the state of Utah, according to 247Sports.

Meza is the seventh pledge to Minnesotas 2026 class and its second receiver beside Rico Blassingame of Tolleson, Ariz.

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