Byron Buxton's two home runs just part of onslaught as Twins pound Rays 9-4

Whenever Byron Buxton has an astounding game at the plate, as he did Friday with two home runs, he explains it the same way.

"See ball, hit ball."

That's an old baseball adage, traced back to the famed hitter Pete Rose. And while it's not the most exciting description of Buxton's innate offensive talent, it is probably the most accurate. Buxton can't really explain what happens when a bat is in his hand. He just does it.

"Keeping it more simple rather than going into that little streak or whatever," Buxton said after spurring the Twins to a 9-4 victory against Tampa Bay. "You overthink a little bit, and things just kind of speed up on you. I slowed the game back down a little bit more. You slow the game down and let it come back to you, and eventually, the hits that you hit hard start to fall, and things like this start to happen."

And they didn't just happen for Buxton. His second home run in the fifth inning began a torrent of production, as the Twins put up six runs on six hits to chase Rays starter Drew Rasmussen (5-3) from the game.

With 23,761 announced fans watching at Target Field, Buxton delivered his first-inning homer to the second deck and his follow-up in the fifth to the bullpen. He's now has hit five homers in his past three games and six total in June through seven games.

Buxton started the season strong, batting .271 through April with six home runs and 11 RBI. But May lagged, despite his five home runs and 10 RBI, as he hit just .169. The center fielder and Friday's designated hitter said pulling out of that slump meant slowing down his at-bats.

"Some situations, you get up there, bases loaded, your heart starts racing out your chest, little things like that," Buxton said. "It's up to you, your mentality, your mental side, to help you realize that it's still just a game. [The pitcher has] got to come to you, and he's still got to throw this over the plate. Once you settle that back down and realize he's still got to come to you at the end of the day, go out there and have your at-bat, be yourself."

The score was tied 1-1 before that big fifth inning, after Isaac Paredes homered off Twins starter Devin Smeltzer (3-0), who gave up three home runs — one an inside-the-parker — before leaving the game in the seventh inning.

Smeltzer said he felt "lethargic" this game, though he gave up just those three runs, four hits and three walks while striking out three. But watching the offense take control in the fifth inning gave him a jolt.

"It's always fun. This offense is incredible to watch," Smeltzer said. "… It's not like they're just good ball players: These guys are electric. … There's a lot of energy."

Beyond Buxton, all but two players in the Twins' lineup had at least one hit Friday. Carlos Correa sent a two-run homer to the bullpen in the eighth. Jorge Polanco and Luis Arraez both had two hits and an RBI apiece.

"We always talk about it being contagious and such. It is," manager Rocco Baldelli said, referring to hitting. "… They do come in bunches, it feels like."