Byron Buxton's speedy walk-off gives Twins 4-3 victory over Detroit

The Tigers made two elemental mistakes on Saturday night: Never make Miguel Sano mad. And never make Byron Buxton run.

Sano unleashed some year-old bitterness toward Detroit reliever Joe Jimenez, turning his anger into a 414-foot rocket off the second deck. And Buxton drove in the winning run by bouncing a slow roller about 80 feet to shortstop, then beating Willi Castro's throw to first base. The combination of power and speed created a thrilling Twins rally — and their fifth consecutive victory at Target Field, 4-3 over the stunned Tigers.

"He's electric, you know?" said Nelson Cruz, who scored the walkoff winning run while Buxton blazed down the baseline like an Olympic sprinter. "He can impact the game so many ways. A few days ago, you saw his glove. You see his arm. And today, the speed that he showed — it's special to see stuff like that."

Gushed Twins manager Rocco Baldelli: "You see Buck do things that you don't see from anyone else. It's amazing to watch."

Watching was a point of contention just a couple of innings earlier, when Sano faced a pitcher who he said had taunted him last August at Detroit after striking him out to end a game.

"He struck me out with a slider in the dirt, and he told me, 'Get … out of here.' I told Nellie [Cruz], 'Hey, next time I face him, I'm going to crush him,' " Sano said of Jimenez, a veteran righthander. " 'I'm going to do the same thing. I hit a homer, I'm going to pimp it, the same thing he did to Nellie and me.' "

Twelve months later, Sano got his chance in the seventh inning, with the Twins trailing 3-1. Jimenez left a slider in the middle of the plate, and Sano unloaded. He tossed his bat, stood and watched the ball ricochet off the upper deck, and slowly circled the bases as Jimenez seethed.

"He's not supposed to get mad, you know?" Sano said. "You pimped it, so get ready for the pimp, too."

Both players gestured at each other from the dugout at inning's end, and Baldelli came out of the dugout to make sure the situation didn't get more explosive.

The game had been a pitcher's duel between Kenta Maeda, who retired 18 batters in a row at one point, and Detroit rookie Tarik Skubal, who limited the Twins to two hits over six innings. The Tigers took an early lead on Victor Reyes' leadoff homer, and then added two more when reliever Tyler Clippard gave up three consecutive singles, allowing inherited runners to score for the first time all year.

It all just set the stage for the ninth, when the Tigers — who also blew a one-run, final-inning lead in the second game of Friday's doubleheader — turned to Jose Cisnero to preserve the 3-2 lead, a daunting task with Josh Donaldson and Cruz leading off.

"Two of the best players in baseball," Baldelli said of his confidence level. "They're obviously guys that you feel really good going up in any situation, but especially when you need something to happen."

They did. Donaldson calmly watched Cisnero miss the outside corner with pitch after pitch, drawing a leadoff walk. Cruz followed by slamming a one-hopper at Cisnero, a potential double-play ball that was hit so hard, it struck the pitcher in his hip and bounced away for a hit.

After Jake Cave struck out, up came Sano, still riding the energy of his home run. But rather than swing for the fences again, "I tried to hit the ball to right field, and he came inside," the slugger said. "I got a sinker in, and I got the chance to hit the ball to my pull side. That's a big moment. Big time."

Sano stroked the ball to left field, a solid single that tied the game. Eddie Rosario followed with a force-play grounder for the second out, but then took second base due to indifference — important since it forced the Detroit infielders to retire Buxton on a ground ball.

Not so easy, they discovered.

"In the batter's box, I just told myself to put the ball in play, put it on the ground and make it tough for them," Buxton said. "Just try to put the ball on the ground there and run like crazy. Speed plays a big part."