ARLINGTON, Texas — The page is turning, Byron Buxton declared Saturday, hours after he returned from the injured list. Everybody was starting to “get that chemistry back together,” and things were starting to click, he said, after the team got five members back from the injured list, himself included, in the past week.
Winning has a way of doing for a team. And on Sunday, with their 4-2 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field, the Twins’ winning streak reached four games, matching a season-high.
After the Twins dropped four of six games to the Yankees and Astros a week ago, manager Rocco Baldelli talked about his team not having much time to prove to the front office that it shouldn’t sell off in July. The Twins followed that comment by losing their first two games against a Seattle team that is among the worst hitting teams in Major League Baseball.
Since then, the Twins salvaged the last game in Seattle, got a little bit healthier, and have now won four straight.
Quickly, a reality check: The Rangers (25-46) are one of the few teams in the American League with a worse record than the Twins (30-41), and the Twins still trail the White Sox by 12½ games in the American League Central. They trail Cleveland and Kansas City, too, for that matter.
But they’ve seen plenty to like in the past few days.
Luis Arraez, Trevor Larnach and Andrelton Simmons each had three hits Saturday as part of the Twins’ 14-hit day.
Buxton, after missing six weeks, has seemingly not missed a beat. He put the Twins ahead on Sunday by slugging a two-run home run in the first inning off Rangers starter Dane Dunning. He also doubled.
“It’s not really normal,” Baldelli said of coming off the injured list after six weeks and not missing a beat. “He believes in what he can do and how to do it and he goes out there and he brings the action to the opposition. … He does a lot. We’ve been able to see it in just two games back.”
Max Kepler, who returned from the injured list a day earlier, recorded an RBI single in the third inning. The Twins scored two runs on that play after the ball got past Joey Gallo in right field.
Starter Kenta Maeda, making just his second start since his own return, showed few cracks. Maeda allowed just two runs on five hits — back-to-back home runs to Adolis García and Gallo in the sixth, ending his day.
Maeda said he felt much better, even better than his last outing — his arm feels strong, he’s been pleased with his slider and the fastball velocity was slightly up.
“In the last outing, it was the first game off of the IL, so I just felt out things here and there,” Maeda said. “But today I was able to go full strength, so that really felt good.”
And yet another positive: A weak link this season, the bullpen has been relatively stingy this weekend in Texas, giving up just one earned run in 11 2/3 innings in the series. On Sunday, the Twins got 1 2/3 innings from Tyler Duffey and a scoreless eighth inning from Jorge Alcala before letting Hansel Robles throw for the third straight day, capping off the win.
“We pitched our (butts) off this series,” Duffey said. “It’s fun to do that. It’s fun to know you’re getting called on to get a job done and then get it done.”
They got the job done as a team, too.
“I think the addition of those guys, bringing them back — and we have more to come — but when that happens, you feel the vibe,” Baldelli said. “You feel the strength that these guys bring. But then they go in the game and they bring it and they produce.”
BRIEFLY
Designated hitter Nelson Cruz left the game early with neck tightness after sleeping on it wrong the night before.
“I don’t think it’s going to keep him down for very long,” Baldelli said. “Normally it’s a day or two days.”
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