MINNEAPOLIS -- 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] -- and I’m not saying that was the reason we didn’t [score more], but we mixed it up a little bit. He’s done a job since he’s moved back up there.”
Buxton singled before scoring on a wild pitch in the first, beat out an infield single and scored from second on Luke Keaschall's single in the fourth, and doubled and scored on a play where Austin Martin was caught stealing in the sixth. In short, he generally showed exactly what makes him one of the game’s most dynamic players.
“When you have someone like Byron and his speed to be able to do whatever he can do and put pressure on that defense, put pressure on the [pitcher], it’s always a little uncomfortable when someone like Byron and that speed is on base,” said Twins starter Bailey Ober. “As a pitcher you speed up and that can make you miss and allow the hitters behind Byron to get him in, and sometimes Byron can just manufacture a run all by himself. Just being able to be that dynamic, he shows that he’s just a super special player.”
Buxton’s hot streak has followed an 0-for-20 stretch that coincided with something of a malaise from the Twins offense. He was held out of Saturday’s game after being hit by a pitch on Friday, and showed signs of coming around in Sunday’s loss to the Rays. But things began to click in a big way starting Monday.
Since moving back into the leadoff spot, Buxton has reached base at least twice in every game, and the Twins are 3-0 with 19 runs scored.
“I just like him comfy,” said Royce Lewis, who drove in the last two runs of the Twins’ six-run first. “So if he likes No. 1, then leave him there. That’s not my job. I just know what he tells me, so I just follow along with his lead. But I think when your leader is batting one and he’s getting off to a hot start like he is and he likes hitting there, then we follow him.”