DETROIT — Paul Molitor sounded reluctant, and given the defense he's giving up, you can understand why. But the Twins' manager decided the day has come to give Byron Buxton a day off to try to lighten up some of the pressure he's feeling about his slow start at the plate.
Buxton has two hits and a walk in 30 plate appearances, an .069 batting average with 17 strikeouts. He appeared tentative at the plate on Tuesday, taking a third strike in all three at-bats, so Molitor decided to sit him down against a tough righthander, Michael Fulmer.
"We're going to back him off today and give him a chance to maybe slow the game down a little bit by watching," Molitor said. "We'll get some other people in there who we thought had a good opportunity to have some good at-bats against Fulmer."
Molitor said he hadn't consulted with Buxton, but he planned to during batting practice. The move is only temporary, Molitor said, but necessary as the pressure grows on the 23-year-old.
"I'm sure he'll be disappointed, but given how things have gone, it seemed like a good day to back him off," Molitor said. Eddie Rosario will move from left to center, with Danny Santana in left field.
Here are the lineups for the second game of this three-game set (12:10 p.m., FSN) with the Tigers:
TWINS
Dozier 2B
