Twins 9, White Sox 4: Byron Buxton Breaks Out in Steamrolling of Lance Lynn, White Sox

[Matt Braun]

I suppose there's nothing uncommon about Lance Lynn giving up a lot of runs at Target Field. 

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
Joe Ryan: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Home Runs: Alex Kirilloff (8), Byron Buxton (16, 17), Ryan Jeffers (5)
Top 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (.209), Alex Kirilloff (.202), Edouard Julien (.045)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

The first pitch couldn’t have gone any worse, as Andrew Benintendi blasted a fastball out to right field, making his second homer of the year a rare lead-off shot. Joe Ryan recovered, but the Twins would now need to respond in a timely manner.

They did. Carlos Correa didn’t join the fun—he simply lined out sharply to center field—but Edouard Julien did, crushing a line drive deep to left field. Benintendi played the ball well, collecting the bounce and unleashing a throw to second base that should have nailed a lethargic Julien. Elvis Andrus muffed it. Oh well, surely the base-runner wouldn’t matter soon. 

Alex Kirilloff homered two pitches later. One of Lance Lynn’s cutters didn’t cut, and all Kirilloff had to do was lift the offering a little, earning his eighth homer of the season.

Byron Buxton homered eight pitches later. Max Kepler reached on an infield hit—perhaps botched a little again by Andrus—and Matt Wallner walked on five pitches. Despite being 0-July (not really, but emotionally, perhaps), Buxton lasered a first-pitch fastball at 114.3 MPH, giving the Twins a sudden 5-1 advantage. 

The game calmed down, entering the usual see-saw to nowhere that many baseball games see for a few innings.

Until Buxton, again, somehow, hit his second homer of the night, breaking free from the arctic grasp the baseball gods had on him; this time with a bomb less prodigious, but still effective. Ryan Jeffers joined him quickly. 

The runs were needed, because Ryan wasn’t as sharp as usual. The strikeouts were there—he whiffed 10 and elicited 17 swings and misses—but Chicago found a way to hit him hard; Yasmani Grandal’s two-run shot in the sixth inning was especially brutal. What should have felt like an untouchable lead was now well within reach.

Lynn was battered, ineffective, and tiring, but he remained in the game, tasked with keeping the lead at three. He should have, having earned a flyout from Correa that should have ended the frame, but right fielder Zach Remillard booted the ball, giving Minnesota extra life. Oh well, surely the base-runner wouldn’t matter soon. 

Julien worked his second walk of the night before Kirilloff plastered Lynn’s final offering of the night: a fastball turned two-run double pelted off the right-center wall. 

And that was it. Emilio Pagán shut down the White Sox in the seventh and Jovani Moran carried the pitching effort to the finish line, tossing a pair of scoreless innings to end the game 9-4 in favor of the Twins. 

Notes:

Byron Buxton's multi-homer game was his first since June 22nd against the Red Sox.

Joe Ryan's 10 strikeouts tied a season-high; he's punched out 10 in a game five times in 2023.

Alex Kirilloff has four homers since the All-Star break ended; he had four homers before the break. 

Edouard Julien extended his hit streak to nine games. 

Post-Game Interviews:

 

What’s Next?
The Twins and White Sox will play the second game of their weekend series on Saturday, with first pitch at 6:15. All-Star Sonny Gray and somehow-not-an-All-Star-in-2022 Dylan Cease will face-off on the mound. 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

 

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[Nashvilletwin]

It was so wonderful to see Buxton and his teammates so happy tonight. Everyone is so all in to getting BB back to his old self.  

[USAFChief]

"I suppose there's nothing uncommon about Lance Lynn giving up a lot of runs at Target Field." 

 

Haha well played young man.

 

As for the game: Twins Rule, Sox Drool.

 

There's your sabremetric analysis for today.

[wsnydes]

A productive Buxton is the much more fun Buxton.

[ashbury]

Julien has his warts when the bat isn't in his hands, but big time props to him for that 2-out slide at home. A beauty!

[Markdumont25]

24 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

It was so wonderful to see Buxton and his teammates so happy tonight. Everyone is so all in to getting BB back to his old self

Couldn't agree more...  The highlight of the game for me was seeing a thrilled Correa being the first man out to greet a jubilant Buck after both his bombs... Although he's been a frustrating player at times, Bucks an easy guy to root for. Good dude, cares, plays hard, and has boatloads of talent. Great to see him having a good time.

[D.C Twins]

Julian has been amazing with the bat... he and Krill cannot leave the top of the order!

Hoping this is the beginning of a positive trend for Buck... unlike the last one-off multi-homer game. (cue the Debbie Downer music and close up)

We'll see.... fingers (and toes) crossed!

[IaBeanCounter]

Wonder if the Moran will be sent down for Keuchel.  Seemed odd to use him for 2 inning, even though he only threw 22 pitches

 

 

 

[TwinkieFan4life]

For all Buck's struggles thus far, all Twins fans know how hot he can get.  Imagine if he got on a heater in the postseason.  He could carry the Twins through a couple series.  How much fun would that be!!  If he gets hot in the postseason, nobody will care what his regular season looked like.

[Squirrel]

The best part of the homeruns tonight was the look on Lance Lynn’s face… priceless

[Squirrel]

2 hours ago, ashbury said:

Julien has his warts when the bat isn't in his hands, but big time props to him for that 2-out slide at home. A beauty!

I didn’t see the game and only catching highlights so didn’t see all the replays with the challenge … truly safe?

[Althebum82]

Agreed, great comment about Lynn.....he has actually done quite well since leaving the Twins, but this season has been the worst of his career and very problematic for the White Sox.  The Twins did well to capitalize on this!

[wabene]

Lynn's fastball, sinker, cutter approach seems tailor made for this lineup. 

[Riverbrian]

I have no complaints

[rwilfong86]

This is the Buxton we've been looking forward to

[pierre75275]

8 hours ago, Markdumont25 said:

Couldn't agree more...  The highlight of the game for me was seeing a thrilled Correa being the first man out to greet a jubilant Buck after both his bombs... Although he's been a frustrating player at times, Bucks an easy guy to root for. Good dude, cares, plays hard, and has boatloads of talent. Great to see him having a good time.

I think that's what it is when it comes to Buxton. Sure, they want him to do well bc the team aspect, but you gotta think that a huge part of the people going wild were happy for him and are cheering for him to get the monkey off of his back

[mikelink45]

Joe seems to be tiring, his last five games included 4,5,6 runs for the opposition and 3 negative WPAs.  Is this something to be concerned about?

 

Date	Tm		Opp	Result	App,Dec	DR	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	HBP	WP	IBB	PO	BK	BF	Pit	Str	StL	StS	GB	FB	LD	PU	Unk	GmSc	IR	IS	WPA	aLI	cWPA	acLi	RE24
2023-07-21	MIN		CHW	W 9-4	GS-6, W	4	6.0	7	4	4	1	10	2	0	0	0	0	0	26	104	64	13	15	4	7	2	2	0	51.0			0.011	0.57	0.01%	0.60	-0.933
2023-07-16	MIN	@	OAK	W 5-4	GS-6	6	5.1	5	3	3	3	7	1	1	0	0	0	0	24	91	54	10	14	1	6	4	1	0	50.0			-0.123	1.01	-0.08%	1.03	-1.054
2023-07-09	MIN		BAL	L 2-15	GS-5, L	5	4.1	5	5	5	2	10	2	1	0	0	0	0	21	98	61	15	14	3	4	1	0	0	41.0			-0.168	0.94	-0.10%	0.93	-1.363
2023-07-03	MIN		KCR	W 8-4	GS-6	5	6.0	6	2	2	1	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	25	94	62	16	19	3	5	5	2	0	60.0			0.151	1.13	0.08%	1.00	1.088
2023-06-27	MIN	@	ATL	L 2-6	GS-3, L	4	3.0	9	6	6	0	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	18	82	57	10	9	5	5	2	1	0	22.0			-0.387	0.43	-0.21%	0.39	-4.355

[Possumlad]

"The game calmed down, entering the usual see-saw to nowhere that many baseball games see for a few innings."

I just wanted to say this is a great piece of writing. Very evocative description of a certain mid-game rhythm we all know well. Something about those meandering middle innings reminds me of half-listening to games with my dad on the garage radio, deep in to the middle of a seemingly endless boyhood summer. 

[jmlease1]

Good work by the offense last night. Much as I love seeing them jump all over a pitcher for a big number in the first inning, it's frustrating when the offense doesn't do anything for the rest of the game, as has happened a few times. Last night they kept it going and did a nice job adding additional runs on top and giving the pitching staff plenty of room to work with.

Ryan had a bit of an odd night: the stuff was humming nicely, but he left too many pitches in the heart of the plate. He needs to keep that splitter down in the zone and work the fastball more on the edges of the zone. He's not going to be successful leaving pitches middle-middle very often. But I'm not that worried; I think he'll get his command back and be fine.

Nice to see Buxton have a big game at the plate. He'd really been struggling and you could see his frustration. What a relief for him to hammer that first dinger and you could see how pumped up he was about it. Hope this is the start of a big run for him again.

I love beating the CWS. I don't care if they kinda stink this year, beating them is a real pleasure every time.

[CRF]

It's very nice to see Buxton have a good night at the plate for a change, but I'd trade that for more consistency from him. He hit 2 homers last night, but will he go on another 0-25 skid now? 

[Matt Braun]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Joe seems to be tiring, his last five games included 4,5,6 runs for the opposition and 3 negative WPAs.  Is this something to be concerned about?

 

Date	Tm		Opp	Result	App,Dec	DR	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	HBP	WP	IBB	PO	BK	BF	Pit	Str	StL	StS	GB	FB	LD	PU	Unk	GmSc	IR	IS	WPA	aLI	cWPA	acLi	RE24
2023-07-21	MIN		CHW	W 9-4	GS-6, W	4	6.0	7	4	4	1	10	2	0	0	0	0	0	26	104	64	13	15	4	7	2	2	0	51.0			0.011	0.57	0.01%	0.60	-0.933
2023-07-16	MIN	@	OAK	W 5-4	GS-6	6	5.1	5	3	3	3	7	1	1	0	0	0	0	24	91	54	10	14	1	6	4	1	0	50.0			-0.123	1.01	-0.08%	1.03	-1.054
2023-07-09	MIN		BAL	L 2-15	GS-5, L	5	4.1	5	5	5	2	10	2	1	0	0	0	0	21	98	61	15	14	3	4	1	0	0	41.0			-0.168	0.94	-0.10%	0.93	-1.363
2023-07-03	MIN		KCR	W 8-4	GS-6	5	6.0	6	2	2	1	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	25	94	62	16	19	3	5	5	2	0	60.0			0.151	1.13	0.08%	1.00	1.088
2023-06-27	MIN	@	ATL	L 2-6	GS-3, L	4	3.0	9	6	6	0	5	5	0	0	0	0	0	18	82	57	10	9	5	5	2	1	0	22.0			-0.387	0.43	-0.21%	0.39	-4.355

Strikeouts still look good and the walks, save for the Oakland outing, are normal as well. It just looks like a homer phase which (normally) is pretty random. I’m at about a 2 or 3 out of 10 for worried-ness.

[Whitey333]

Great to see Buxton Homer twice and end the 0 for 26 slump.  I believe that's his fourth similar slump this year.  I'm glad everyone is happy but don't says he's out of his slump.  He's out of the hitless streak he was on and ended it in grand style.  But we've seen this several times this year.  He will have a great game or even a few games then go right back to his horrific slumps.  I'm hoping that doesn't happen.  I'd love to see Buxton hitting like they always tell us he can hit.  We will need him if we make the playoffs.  Let's see how he does the next few games.  It's always funny that you never hear about his injuries when he actually hits the ball with authority.  But when he is in one of his many slumps t h ats all you hear about is how his injuries are the cause of his poor hitting.  Go Buck. We need you and are all pulling for you.

[Nine of twelve]

8 hours ago, Squirrel said:

I didn’t see the game and only catching highlights so didn’t see all the replays with the challenge … truly safe?

It appeared to me that Julien got his hand on home plate literally a couple milliseconds before contact was made on the tag but the replay was not clearly conclusive. So I think the call on the field would have been upheld whether he was ruled safe or out. Had the play occurred early in the game it probably would not have been challenged.

As an aside, I wish the replay process would be changed. I think the reviewer(s) should not be influenced by the call on the field. The replay would need to be stopped before it shows the umpire making the call. The play would be called one way, or the other way, or inconclusive. Only if the reviewer rules inconclusive would the call on the field stand.

[chinmusic]

I wonder if Buxton sitting for 2 games was helpful.

Sprinkling in more days off going forward is a thought.

It would also provide more flexibility; temporary relief from the DH only/no CF conundrum

 

[stringer bell]

9 hours ago, Squirrel said:

I didn’t see the game and only catching highlights so didn’t see all the replays with the challenge … truly safe?

Ruled safe by the ump and I truly don’t know if Grandal’s tag happened before Julien touched home with his hand. The only person that would know is Julien. 

[Senor Smoke]

It's so much fun to watch the White Sox just constantly shoot themselves in the foot.

• Julien SHOULD have been gunned out by about 30 ft in the first inning. OF COURSE Elvis Andrus dropped the ball.
• Slow roller up the middle, Andrus grabs it and... it slips out of his hand. OF COURSE IT DID. 
• Zach Remillard (?) fly ball to RF. Looks like he is camped under it and HE MISSES THE BALL

There always seems to be one play in every White Sox game where you just scratch your head and say "How do they consistently do this?!?!" 

I am surprised Lance Lynn didn't go Trevor Bauer on his fielders. Of course, throwing first pitch fastballs down the middle to a first pitch fastball team was an interesting choice.

 

(Narrators voice: It didn't go well)

Glad to see Buxton break out of the slump (hopefully). You could see it was weighing him down. 

[Jeff D.]

Glad the Twins won. But it is incredulous to listen to folks go nuts when Buxton actually manages to get a hit or one over the fence. The dude simply cannot hit anymore than Lynn can keep the ball in the yard. Whenever the guy manages something other than an out, it is like we have a Trout or Ohtani on the team. The other players are carrying this team and not double B. I wish him well, as it can only help the Twins, but IMO the guy can and should sit most of the remaining season. Go Twins!

Twins Geezer..........out!

[wabene]

The two dingers are nice, I hope it signals to management that 6 or lower is the place for Buck for the time being. Gotta be Correa, Julien and Kirilloff 123 going forward. 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

Nothing puts a smile on my face more than Lance Lynn stinking against the Twins (though Kendrys Morales might give him a run for the money).

[roger]

One of the more interesting aspects of last night's game to me was the brutal play in left by Wallner.  The early ball near the wall was clearly in his glove and should have been an out.  If I were the scorer, it would have been an error. 

Then I believe it was the fourth, he fielded a ball off the wall on the ground and let it roll out of his glove before he recovered.  Didn't see it in live action, but was a clear misplay on the replay.  If memory serves, I don't believe the runner got an extra base so there wasn't an error.

And his diving catch was anything but smooth.  Looked like he was gonna break his neck trying to make it. 

And all of you who want him playing over Keps only needed to watch the catch Kepler made behind Taylor on that deep drive to the gap.  That was still a critical time in the game and had he not got it, who knows what would have happened.