Buxton hot streak continues at perfect time for Twins
Byron Buxton led the way as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2 in MLB on Sunday.
The 23-year-old centrefielder, once one of the top prospects in MLB, had struggled to adjust to big-league pitching early in his career. But he continued an incredible month with his best game yet against the Blue Jays.
Buxton collected four hits, three home runs (13), five RBIs and a stolen base to raise his average to .249 for the season. He was batting just .200 at the beginning of July.
The Twins hold a one-a-half-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels and the Seattle Mariners for the final wild-card spot in the American league.
Buxton's combination of speed and power makes him one of the most intriguing young players in baseball. While Buxton's strikeout propensity (113 in 354 at-bats), is a bit worrisome, he is starting become more patient and efficient at the plate.
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
New York Yankees 10-1 Seattle Mariners
Cleveland Indians 12-0 Kansas City Royals
Cincinnati Reds 2-5 Pittsburgh Pirates
Boston Red Sox 1-2 Baltimore Orioles
Atlanta Braves 0-3 Colorado Rockies
St Louis Cardinals 2-3 Tampa Bay Rays
Oakland Athletics 8-3 Texas Rangers
Arizona Diamondbacks 11-0 San Francisco Giants
Toronto Blue Jays 2-7 Minnesota Twins
Miami Marlins 6-2 San Diego Padres
Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 Chicago Cubs
Washington Nationals 5-6 New York Mets
Washington Nationals 5-4 New York Mets
Chicago White Sox 7-1 Detroit Tigers
Los Angeles Angels 5-7 Houston Astros
Los Angeles Dodgers 2-3 Milwaukee Brewers
INDIANS DUO STAR, GIOLITO LEADS WHITE SOX
Carlos Carrasco and Francisco Lindor led the Indians to a convincing win to sweep the Royals. Carrasco tossed seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and no walks to improve to 13-6 with a 3.78 ERA. Lindor went two for three with two runs scored, a home run (24), two RBIs and a walk.
Starlin Castro and Masahiro Tanaka, likewise, led the Yankees to victory over the Mariners. Castro went four for four with two runs scored and an RBI. Tanaka, who has endured a mercurial season, was at his best Sunday, allowing just one run in seven innings. He struck out 10 batters while improving to 10-10 on the season.
Lucas Giolito, one of the White Sox's plethora of top prospects, tossed seven scoreless innings in a win over the Tigers. Giolito struck out four batters while improving to 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA this season.
CUBS' STRUGGLES CONTINUE
Locked in a tight National League (NL) Central battle, the defending World Series champions could not afford to squander games against the Phillies. After Sunday's loss, they dropped the series and have now lost three out of their last four games.
HOMER NO.50 FOR STANTON
Marlins slugger Stanton launched his 50th home run of the season.
This is @Giancarlo818’s 50th HR of 2017.
— MLB (@MLB) August 27, 2017
So of course it was #crushed. https://t.co/xqsC4nhoXX pic.twitter.com/c8HMJs2QXx
INDIANS AT YANKEES
After shutting out the Royals in three straight games, Cleveland head to New York in great form. Corey Kluber (12-4, 2.65 ERA) will take the mound against young Yankees star Luis Severino (11-5, 3.10 ERA) in a battle of aces on Monday. The Yankees are now just two-and-a-half games behind the Red Sox in the American League (AL) East, while the Indians have a 6.5 game lead over the Twins in the AL Central.