The Twins' previous center fielder was AL player of the month in April. Their current center fielder is making a case for the May award.
Rob Refsnyder comes through again in center field as Twins top Orioles
Twins' Refsnyder supplies offense, defense for Buxton in beating Orioles
May 26, 2021 at 2:29PM
OK, even Rob Refsnyder wouldn't compare himself to Byron Buxton, in part because until last week, he had never played the position during his six years in the big leagues. That only makes the growing legend of this super sub all the more unlikely.
Refsnyder doubled twice, crushed a home run, drove in two runs, scrambled home on a wild pitch and executed an all-out Buxton-style diving catch Tuesday night, leading the Twins to their fifth win in six games, 7-4 over the outgunned Baltimore Orioles.
"I'm just trying to hold the fort down until Buck gets back. That's his position out there," said Refsnyder, who perhaps proved it by capping his big night by … dropping a fly ball for an error.
"I know he's getting back soon, which as a Twins fan, I'm sure people are very excited about."
There hasn't been much to be excited about this year until lately. Tuesday's victory, combined with Detroit's 4-1 loss to Cleveland, pulled Minnesota out of last place in the AL Central for the first time in 10 days. It also clinched back-to-back series wins for the first time since the first two series of the 2021 season.
"It's finally, hopefully, trying to turn around for us," said Taylor Rogers, who retired four batters to earn his third save. "Everybody is going to bring their best effort, be the best version of [him]self, and we'll see how things turn out."
Yes, they are merely beating the Orioles, losers of eight consecutive games and 15 of their past 17, new owners of the worst record in the major leagues, a team that hasn't beaten the Twins since March 2018, 14 losses in a row ago. But the Twins, desperate to rejoin the AL Central race that is perilously close to out of reach, make no apologies for taking advantage.
"These are teams that we match up well against, and we need to perform these next two weeks," catcher Mitch Garver said of a 13-game stretch featuring nothing but Orioles and Royals in the opposite dugouts. "And we have the ability to do that."
Looked like it on Tuesday. Alex Kirilloff doubled twice, Garver did as well, and Jorge Polanco, determined to play on his naggingly sore right ankle, homered in his first at-bat since last Thursday. Jose Berrios allowed three runs over 5⅔ innings to earn his fifth victory.
But it was Refsnyder, the career utility player who has rescued the Twins from an injury-induced emergency, taking part in the Twins' most important rallies.
His second-inning double off Orioles starter Dean Kremer hit about 12 feet up the wall in right-center field and drove home the game-tying run. A pair of walks moved him to third base, and he hustled home with the go-ahead run when a Kremer curveball sailed over catcher Pedro Severino's head.
In the fourth inning, Refsnyder led off with a double into the right-field corner. He eventually scored on Josh Donaldson's sacrifice fly. And in the eighth inning, Refsnyder, now batting .438 with seven RBI in his first 11 games as a Twin, completed his big night by lining a changeup from Keegan Akin into the overhang in right field, his second home run of the season.
Refsnyder also ended the sixth by racing 50 feet toward the infield and diving to catch Cedric Mullins' pop fly just before it hit the grass.
"He's been a massive contributor," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He figures things out. That's what ballplayers do."
Emmanuel Rodriguez had an abbreviated season after being hit by the injury bug, but he showed promise as a disciplined hitter.
