Twins are encouraging Austin Martin to remain aggressive after miscues

DETROIT – Austin Martin broke one of baseball’s golden rules Tuesday night when he made the last out of an inning at third base, attempting to steal. An inning later, he missed a ball he dived for in center field.

The message from the coaching staff: Keep at it.

The baserunning blunder was strategized in the dugout beforehand. There was a long delay in the seventh inning because of an injury to home-plate umpire Chad Fairchild. Coaches talked to Martin about how far Detroit Tigers third baseman Colt Keith strayed off the bag with lefty-hitting Kody Clemens in the batter’s box.

On a 0-2 count, Martin shuffled for a step before he tried a delayed steal. Keith wasn’t fooled, and Martin was easily thrown out.

“He got to the bag a lot quicker than I thought he would be able to,” Martin said. “We had that conversation, and I thought I saw it, so I just went for it.”

In the eighth inning, with the Twins leading 6-1, Detroit’s Jahmai Jones hit a ball to Martin in center. The ball was out of Martin’s reach, and the result of his dive turned a likely RBI single into a two-run triple after the ball skipped past him.

“I’m just trying to play with confidence and try to get as many balls as I possibly can,” Martin said. “I want to play aggressive, but not reckless. Sometimes, you have to test the waters to see what you can get to and what you can’t. That was just one of those situations.”

“I want him to play aggressively,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s a good, athletic player. He is methodical. He uses his mind out there on the field. Yeah, there are some plays that I think he’s going to want to make and we’re going to want him to make, but I see nothing wrong with what he’s doing.”

Byron Buxton, on the 10-day injured list because of inflammation in his left rib cage, did defensive drills Wednesday in Detroit and ramped up his hitting.

“Definitely in good spirits when I can swing a bat,” Buxton said. “I started [Tuesday] and did a good bit. Just working my way back into it, pushing myself a little bit.”

Buxton, a 31-year-old All-Star, could return this weekend against Kansas City if he continues to progress as expected.

The biggest hurdle, he said, is a nagging pain around his ribs.

When Justin Topa was leaving Comerica Park on Tuesday, he put a baseball and a lineup card into a bag.

A couple of mementos to remember his first save with the Twins. He recorded three saves with the Seattle Mariners in 2023.

“After the trade deadline and everything, we knew the roles were going to be all over the place,” Topa said. “I don’t think we have a designated closer. I think it’s going to be where we are in the lineup, and how things are rolling that day.

“It’s cool. Maybe a little extra adrenaline.”

Baldelli called Topa and Cole Sands into his office the day after the trade deadline to let them know he would use them as his late-inning, high-leverage relievers.

Etc.

· Trevor Larnach, who homered in each of his last two games, was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with left side soreness.

· Taj Bradley allowed one run in six innings for the Class AAA St. Paul Saints in his organizational debut Wednesday at CHS Field. Bradley, acquired from Tampa Bay in a trade for Griffin Jax, struck out four and walked none in a 7-4 loss to the Iowa Cubs.