Long homer didn't leave Twins' Byron Buxton feeling dialed in

Only Byron Buxton could obliterate a fastball 436 feet into the upper deck and come out of the experience with a self-critique.

"Definitely didn't feel on time," Buxton said after that eighth-inning smash in the Twins' 4-3 loss to Seattle on Saturday. "Felt a little late the last couple of days until that at-bat. It's weird. I felt late on that at-bat, too. It's just more instinctual when you give yourself that early time to see the ball. It's just more reaction at that point."

Buxton did give himself some credit that he was slowly regaining that timing, which was evident in Sunday's 10-4 victory, when he had back-to-back leadoff homers in the first two innings. He said he knew his first was a home run. He wasn't so sure of the second. Both were on inside pitches, but Buxton still sent them into the left field stands.

Even if Buxton hasn't quite risen to his own lofty standards, manager Rocco Baldelli seems satisfied. As did Twins fans, who scattered a couple of MVP chants through Target Field after the second home run.

"He looks pretty tuned up and timed up, and everything looks dialed in to me," Baldelli said. "Even when he's pitched really tough, he's still battled in some of these at-bats as well. He's keeping some balls fair that are maybe pitches that sometimes are pulled foul in this game. And you do that by being sound at the plate and having that direct path and staying through the ball real well.

"He's finding ways to do some special things."

With Josh Donaldson dealt to the Yankees, the Twins no longer have a locked-in third baseman. And that has given Gio Urshela — who came to the Twins as part of the Donaldson trade – and Luis Arraez a chance to claim the spot.

Urshela started Friday's and Sunday's games at third while Arraez was there Saturday. Arraez made several noticeable if not always successful plays at third. He did turn a third-to-first double play, but he also committed a pretty glaring error by letting a ball bounce through his hands.

"In day games, those things do happen sometimes because of the background and the sun hitting certain spots on the field. He just didn't see the ball," Baldelli said. "… He does good work over there. He's good in small spaces, and I think he defends well."

Urshela has 354 career starts at third with four teams. Baldelli said he uses the first week or so of the season to give his whole roster some time on the field, meaning third base could become a platoon until a front-runner emerges.

Arraez has been an infielder and outfielder the past three seasons, but Baldelli decided to refocus Arraez's attention to only the infield this spring. The manager mentioned second base as being another spot Arraez might see some time early this season, though Jorge Polanco has that position pretty secured.

But Baldelli said Arraez wasn't too bummed about continuing his nomadic existence.

"With some guys, that can be a challenging conversation. With Luis, it's not as much of a challenging conversation," Baldelli said. "He understands what's going on. It doesn't change that he wants to be out there. … But he knows that as we get through this first week, he's going to find himself out there a lot."