Fastball

Minnesota Twins Slugger Ties Hall of Famer in Team Home Run History

The Minnesota Twins lost to the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday afternoon despite a historic effort from Byron Buxton at the plate.

Brady Farkas

Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (25) reacts to hitting a solo home run during the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field on Aug 11.
Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (25) reacts to hitting a solo home run during the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Target Field on Aug 11. / Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
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The Minnesota Twins lost to the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday afternoon by a score of 5-3 at Target Field.

The battle between the two playoff hopefuls sent the Guardians to 69-49 on the year. The Twins are now 65-52. The game had meaning for both sides as Cleveland moved to 3.5 games up on Minnesota in the American League Central. Furthermore, they are just 0.5 games off the pace for the No. 1 seed in the looming AL playoffs.

As for the Twins, they fell to 3.5 back in the division. They remain 0.5 games up on the Kansas City Royals for the second wild card spot, however.

Despite the loss, it was a historic day for Twins' slugger Byron Buxton. The outfielder went 2-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and all three RBI. With the multi-homer effort, he tied Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett in team history.

Per @StatsCentre:

Most career multi-home run performances - franchise history (1901-present):
45- Harmon Killebrew
20- Justin Morneau
18- Roy Sievers
18- Tony Oliva
17- Bob Allison
16- Kent Hrbek
13- Byron Buxton (Hitting 2 in Sunday's 5-3 loss against CLE)
13- Gary Gaetti
13- Kirby Puckett

Buxton, who has dealt with injury issues again this season, is hitting .278 through 302 at-bats. He's got 16 homers, 49 RBI and six stolen bases. The 30-year-old has posted an OPS for .870.

As for Puckett, he spent 12 years in Minnesota, making 10 All-Star Games and winning two World Series titles. He was a lifetime .318 hitter who popped 207 home runs and had 2,304 hits. A six-time Gold Glover, he was also a batting champion and a six-time Silver Slugger.

He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. He passed away in 2006.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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