When Edouard Julien lined a ball off the left field wall and Alex Kirilloff blasted a homer in the first inning, it looked like the Twins carried all their streaks from the West Coast to Target Field.
Well, maybe not all of them.
Byron Buxton, recently benched for two games, snapped a 0-for-26 hitless streak with a three-run homer in the first inning and a solo homer in the fourth to propel the Twins to a 9-4 win over the White Sox in their first home game following the All-Star break.
Buxton didn't hide his emotions as he rounded the bases during his first home run, rocketing a first-pitch fastball over the left field wall with a 114.3 mile-per-hour exit velocity for the third-hardest hit of his career. He punched the air once the ball cleared the wall. He let out a yell after touching first base and let out a few more on his way to second base. When he reached home plate, he clapped twice and shouted once more.
Walking through the line of high-fives in the dugout, Buxton broke into a smile. It was the fourth time he had a hitless streak extend at least 20 plate appearances this season, but the first one that saw his batting average dip as low as .193.
"The first ball he hit was like a torpedo heading out in that direction," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "Can't hit a baseball very much harder than that."
Buxton's first homer keyed a five-run first inning against White Sox starter Lance Lynn, who has drawn trade interest around the league and pitched in front of at least eight scouts Friday. Poor defense played a part, too. Second baseman Elvis Andrus dropped the ball before Julien slid into second on his hit off the wall and Kirilloff pulled a homer to right field two pitches later. Andrus later bobbled a grounder for an infield hit.
In the fourth inning, Buxton had a more typical reaction to his second homer. The weight of his slump was gone and he pulled a two-strike slider down the left field line for the 10th multi-homer game of his career.
