Not only did the Minnesota Twins homer four times in their 11-3 win over the Chicago White Sox, but Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano — their two young stars — contributed to the cause, as did Brian Dozier, who hit his 34th of the year.
“I’ve been struggling a little,” Sano told the Pioneer Press, “but I try to keep on working really hard and keep my job and help my teammates. If I can’t hit, I try to play good defense or run the bases really well or do something so the team can win.”
“Just going up there and having fun, not pressing, not thinking about anything,” Buxton told the Associated Press, “just going up there and letting my ability take over.”
An 8-run third inning ultimately did the White Sox in and all but guaranteed that Hector Santiago would get his first win in a Minnesota uniform.
“You try to stay loose,” Santiago told the Star Tribune. “You try to stay sharp mentally and remember who’s coming up and what you want to do.”
After scoring three runs in the first two innings, Minnesota sent 13 batters to the plate. Both Sano and Trevor Plouffe hit home runs with men on base in that inning. Santiago exited the game after pitching 6.0 innings, giving up four hits and three earned runs.
“We put some runs up,” Twins manager Paul Molitor told the Star Tribune. “And Hector overcame a little bit of a shaky start.”
[Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Associated Press]
