Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees

In his first at-bat since last Sunday, Byron Buxton set the tone for the Twins. Buxton, back in the lineup Saturday afternoon after a four-game absence due to a right hip impingement, hammered an RBI double on a two-strike pitch to spark a three-run first inning. Following Buxton’s lead, Minnesota launched a season-high six home runs en route to an 11-4 victory at Yankee Stadium. “Right from the jump,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “Buck goes back in the lineup and right out of the gate does something that impacts the game.” Buxton reached base twice and hit a sacrifice fly while batting out of the No. 2 hole and manning center field. Following a productive off-day on Thursday, the 32-year-old participated in a full slate of baseball activities before Friday’s series opener, setting the stage for his return to the lineup. In mid-May, after similar hip discomfort caused him to miss five games, Buxton returned to the lineup with a two-hit game. This is simply what he does. “Not surprised at all,” laughed designated hitter Josh Bell. So a day after feeling Buxton’s absence in a quiet loss, the Twins followed their superstar’s lead and broke out the bats. Kody Clemens followed Buxton’s run-scoring double in the first inning with a two-run homer, his second in as many games. An inning later, the Twins continued to jump all over Yankees right-hander Brendan Beck. Luke Keaschall and Alex Jackson tagged Beck for back-to-back home runs, the third time that the Twins hit back-to-back homers this season. It was also the first time that Minnesota hit three home runs in the first two innings of a game since June 19, 2025. “It was a fun day,” Jackson said. “The guys are attacking as a team, getting barrels to the ball, putting the ball in play hard. When you do that, good things happen.” Trevor Larnach joined the party with a left-on-left home run against Tim Hill in the fourth inning, mounting a 6-0 Minnesota lead. Turns out, they were still getting started. Bell launched a solo home run as a left-handed hitter in the seventh, then tacked on a two-run shot from the right side in the eighth. That gave the Twins six home runs in a game for the first time since Sept. 4, 2023.