Buxton Helps Minnesota Beat Texas In Debut
Follow 105.3 The Fan: Facebook | Twitter
ARLINGTON (105.3 The Fan/AP) — Byron Buxton sat in the dugout about an hour before making his major league debut and identified speed as his greatest baseball attribute. He quickly got to show it off, too... Despite going 0 for 4, Buxton streaked home with the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and the Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers 4-3 Sunday and ended a five-game losing streak, "It's a day I'll cherish forever," Buxton said, "especially making my debut and getting the winning run across."
Regarded by many as the top prospect in baseball, the 21-year-old Buxton joined the Twins from Double-A. He batted ninth and played center, filling out a depleted Minnesota outfield.
Eduardo Escobar opened the Twins ninth with a double. Buxton, picked No. 2 in the 2012 draft, tried to sacrifice but bunted back to Shawn Tolleson (1-1), who threw out Escobar at third base.
Buxton said he hadn't sacrificed in a while — his last one came in 2013 in the Class A Midwest League.
With two outs, Eddie Rosario doubled to center and Buxton scored without a play.
Twins manager Paul Molitor said the threat of Buxton stealing second — he had 20 in 59 games this season for Double-A Chattanooga — could have contributed to Rosario's success against Tolleson, "Sometimes, that can lead to a mistake," Molitor said.
RECAP: @JoeyGallo24 and @leonys27martin hit homers, but Rangers fall to Twins late. http://t.co/df8siBdKxL pic.twitter.com/ChK0ql70G4
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) June 14, 2015
Buxton had scored a Southern League-high 44 runs when he was called up this weekend.
"He's got a beautiful stride. He runs like not too many people we've seen in this game," Molitor said.
The Twins were missing outfielders Torii Hunter, who was serving his suspension for a uniform-tossing tirade, and injured Aaron Hicks.
Casey Fien (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings and Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth for his American League-leading 22nd save as the Twins snapped a five-game losing streak.
Tolleson had been 8 for 8 in save situations since becoming the Rangers' closer in mid-May, "I wasn't really putting myself in a good position there," he said.
The Twins' Brian Dozier opened the game with a home run, his 10th career leadoff shot and third this season.
Dozier also doubled to increase his league-leading total of extra-base hits to 36. Nine of Minnesota's 11 hits were for extra bases.
Joey Gallo and Leonys Martin homered for Texas in the second inning off Phil Hughes.
(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)