MINNEAPOLIS — Being back in the outfield must have re-invigorated Byron Buxton, as the center fielder was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in the Twins' 9-2 drubbing of the White Sox on Saturday at Target Field.
Buxton hurt his knee April 15 in Boston while sliding into second base and missed a handful of games before making an appearance as the designated hitter Thursday at Kansas City. He took another day off Friday before returning to the field Saturday in front of an announced 16,686 fans.
Hitting leadoff, he smacked a line drive to left to start the Twins loading the bases in the first. He then scored on Jorge Polanco's forceout to give the Twins an early lead.
Buxton doubled in the second inning, scoring Ryan Jeffers who had doubled ahead of him. Luis Arraez then brought Buxton home on a single.
In the fourth inning, both Jeffers and Buxton hit solo home runs. Jeffers has struggled at the plate so far this season but had been strong against Chicago.
"Baseball can be such a cruel game sometimes just with nothing going your way, feeling good, but just nothing seemingly going right," Jeffers said pregame. "... It's a cliché phrase to say stay with the process, but it rings true."
The Twins loaded the bases again and scored two runs from Trevor Larnach's single to left to break the game open with a 7-0 lead.
Buxton took a hit-by-pitch in the fifth inning, when the Twins scored another run from another Arraez single. Arraez then drove in his third run in the seventh, finishing the game going 4 for 5 at the plate.
Twins starter Dylan Bundy worked five shutout innings, giving up four hits but striking out four and improving to 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA in three starts with his new team.
"The split has really come alive for him and has been a weapon against both sides of the plate, but I think he's really shown us his ability to pitch," manager Rocco Baldelli said of Bundy before the game. "... He's a professional major league starting pitcher who knows what he's doing and can still make adjustments. I think his ability to work through a lineup with all of his stuff from the very beginning of the game has been apparent, and he's been very effective doing that."
Cody Stashak replaced Bundy and gave up a solo homer to Jose Abreu in the sixth. Danny Coulombe gave up Chicago's second run in the eighth on an Abreu groundout, and Caleb Thielbar pitched a scoreless ninth.
Chicago starter Vince Velasquez went 3 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits, five runs and a walk with six strikeouts.
The Twins, who outhit the White Sox 14-7, improved to 7-8 while Chicago fell to 6-8. They finish the three-game series Sunday afternoon.
