Byron Buxton’s exploits propel Minnesota Twins past Texas Rangers

It has echoes of a great theological debate: Can Byron Buxton hit a baseball so far that even he can’t catch it?

Buxton made a case for both sides Wednesday, ranging more than 100 feet to make a top-speed diving catch of a certain double by Marcus Semien, saving two sure runs in the process. Ten minutes later, the Twins’ most dangerous hitter launched a Jack Leiter slider into the center-field suites, a 479-foot blast longer than any at Target Field since 2019, enough to give the Twins the lead for good in a 6-2 victory over Texas.

“We saw some things from our center fielder that you probably won’t forget. Pat on the back to everyone who was at the ballpark tonight to be able to watch what he did out there,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “One of the more mesmerizing performances that you’ll ever see on a field.”

Buxton did some less superhuman things too, like bashing a double, lining a single and stealing a base, almost single-handedly earning the Twins their second win in their past six home games.

The ball that interrupted the dinner of a few hundred fans in the suites ranks as the sixth-longest in Target Field’s 16-year history, according to the Twins’ records, and the second-longest in the majors this season, after Mike Trout’s 484-footer in April. Not since Miguel Sano clubbed a 491-foot missile in 2019 had a baseball flown that far in Minnesota.

“I knew that was a good one, I ain’t going to lie. I knew it was a good one,” Buxton said. “It’s weird. My last one was off a slider, too. I don’t hit fastballs far, but I can hit a slider.”

The win was full of big performances and highlight-film plays. Carlos Correa caught a popup on the run in short left field with his back to the infield. Willi Castro drove home two runs with a two-out triple, his first since last June 27. And David Festa successfully fought off the third-time-through monster, recording four outs when given the rare opportunity to face hitters a third time in the same game.

Not a bad response for a team that absorbed a 16-4 drubbing to the same team one night earlier.

But it was Buxton’s night, racking up three hits for a second consecutive game, reaching base all four times he batted, and coming a triple short of the Twins’ first cycle since Jorge Polanco’s 5-for-5 night in Philadelphia in 2019, that drew the most attention.

Buxton, after all, has an impressive collection of 450-foot bombs — a dozen, now, in his 11-year career — but none was longer than this one. It was the 10th home run ever to reach the suites and will be commemorated, like the other nine, with a plaque near where it landed.

“We’re all allowed to enjoy it, too, in the dugout. I think everyone, player and staff alike, we’ll have that one in our memory banks,” Baldelli said. “There are a few homers you remember. That one will stick.”

And it was a little historic, too. Buxton now owns 144 career home runs, or one more than Hall of Famer Joe Mauer, good for 13th place in Twins history.

The catch was equally memorable, given that the Rangers led by two, two runners were on base and “it basically split the outfielders. It’s hit hard, and when you see no outfielder in sight, you assume it’s an extra-base hit,” Baldelli said. “Um, don’t make too many assumptions, though, because Buck closed on that ball as good as you can, came out of nowhere. A fearless play and a great play.”

It may have saved Festa from another short start, too.

“I don’t want to say I doubted him, but it looked like the ball was pretty well in the gap. Which it was,” Festa said, shaking his head. “The fact he made the play just shows how special of a player he is. And it helped me out big time.”

The only sore spot in his show-stopping performance: Buxton charged home from third base on Matt Wallner’s sixth-inning grounder to Rangers first baseman Josh Smith. He may or may not have touched home plate with his right hand before catcher Jonah Heim tagged him, but he was called out. When the Twins challenged the call, crew chief Lance Barksdale appeared flustered, initially signaling that the call had been reversed, before suddenly correcting himself and upholding the out call.

BOXSCORE: Twins 6, Rangers 2

MLB standings

For Festa, it was a night of redemption after an ugly return to the Twins’ rotation last Thursday in Sacramento, when he allowed eight runs. The righthander allowed only three hits over six innings, though each of them damaging: A solo home run to Semien in the second inning — wait, are we sure Buxton didn’t catch that one, too? — and back-to-back doubles by Heim and Smith in the third.

But Baldelli, mindful of the bullpen’s workload lately, trusted Festa, who had faced only three hitters all season a third time, with the sixth inning, since he hadn’t allowed a hit since those third-inning doubles. Festa’s response: three quick outs, eventually earning him his first victory of the season.