Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins

As early as Spring Training, when new Twins manager Derek Shelton was giving away very little about potential lineups, he said he wanted to bat Byron Buxton second. It makes sense -- despite what traditional roles would indicate, modern analysis suggests that your best hitter should hit in the No. 2 spot. Buxton hit 35 home runs last year, Shelton noted, and it would be nice to have some runners on base when he hits them. It lasted 11 days. Buxton moved back into the leadoff spot on Monday, and since then, he and the Twins have been on a torrid stretch. Minnesota won its third straight game with its talisman in the No. 1 hole on Wednesday night, jumping all over Framber Valdez early en route to an 8-6 victory over the Tigers at Target Field. Unsurprisingly, Buxton was at the heart of everything the Twins did on offense. He reached base four times. He started three separate run-scoring rallies with two singles and a double, and scored three times. In every inning where Minnesota scored, Buxton scored. “He just brings a ton of energy,” Shelton said. “We tried something earlier that didn’t end up \[working\