Byron Buxton's four hits send Twins soaring over White Sox 9-2

For this first time this season, the Twins won a series. And they did it with a game to spare.

Drubbing the White Sox 9-2 on Saturday, the Twins also accomplished their longest winning streak of the year at three games. They will have a chance at getting back to .500 if they get their first sweep Sunday and will have undeniably harnessed a so far elusive force: momentum.

Byron Buxton might have singlehandedly assured that in the series' second game from his first at-bat hitting leadoff.

"If I can set the tone for the game, I know that gets us going," he said. "… That gets me going once they get going. It's kind of like that domino effect for us."

Buxton set them up, and the rest of the lineup knocked the White Sox down in a 14-hit day, made even more impressive in that it was only Buxton's second game back from injury and his first in center field again.

He hurt his knee April 15 in Boston while sliding into second base and missed five games before being the designated hitter Thursday at Kansas City. He took Friday off before returning to the outfield Saturday in front of an announced 16,686 fans at Target Field.

The 28-year-old made it on base in all five of his plate appearances, collecting four hits, two RBI and scoring three runs. After four innings, he was already a triple shy of hitting for the cycle thanks to his first-inning single, second-inning RBI double and fourth-inning solo home run. He didn't end up accomplishing that milestone, but he got on base two more times by getting hit by a pitch and collecting another single.

"For me, it was more excited for me to go to right field twice. That's my positives for the day," Buxton said. "I ain't trying to look too much for the triple or the cycle or whatever. I like just using the whole field a little bit and spreading the ball out. It was fun."

Hitting right behind Buxton, Luis Arraez certainly benefited from the leadoff man's performance. Arraez was 4-for-5 and drove in three runs.

"Every time he brings the energy," Arraez said. "He's an amazing player, amazing person. He's a leader. So when I saw Byron running, it makes me [go] crazy when he gets to base."

Even toward the bottom of the lineup, there was some offensive juice. Ryan Jeffers — whose eighth-inning double Friday helped the Twins pull off a come-from-behind victory — hit a double in his first at-bat and followed that with a fouth-inning solo homer, two at-bats before Buxton smashed his.

BOXSCORE: Twins 9, White Sox 2

The Twins have not exactly been offensively consistent these first weeks of the season, with hits and runs hard to find. But manager Rocco Baldelli said his team was able to finally string solid at-bats together Saturday.

"You can watch a lot of guys go from not swinging the bat great to swinging the bat off the charts, and visually, there's not much different," Baldelli said of the recent turnaround. "… You kind of grind through it, and you keep working, and you stick with your program like we talk about, and you see guys breaking out."

Righthander Dylan Bundy was the beneficiary of the offense, improving to 3-0 with his new team. Bundy pitched five shutout innings, giving up four hits but striking out four to lower his ERA to 0.59. Baldelli praised Bundy's performance, which had some "unexpectedness" in it with his pitch mix as well as changing speeds and locations.

The Twins starting rotation as a whole tops the AL with a collective 2.54 ERA. And while the hitters stoke each other, the starters are doing the same. Though it manifests in a more aggressive way by trying to one-up the others every start.

"Once you can get a competition going between starters, I think it's really healthy and really good for the team," Bundy said. "… You want to either do the same or do better than the guy previous because you believe in yourself and have confidence. Confidence in this game is huge."

And it's something the Twins have finally reclaimed this season.