WASHINGTON – Byron Buxton didn’t hide his emotion when he saw his second-inning solo homer clear the wall in right-center field Tuesday night, celebrating with a big fist pump and a long yell.
It counted as only one run and an early lead on the scoreboard. Buxton showed, for a reeling Twins lineup, it meant a lot more.
“Something needed to change,” said Buxton, who homered again in the fifth inning, a two-run blast to center. The Twins offense finally showed signs of life in a 10-0 win over the Washington Nationals to end the team’s season-worst seven-game losing streak.
The Twins, who scored only 12 runs over their past seven games, had the Rally Sausage they left behind in Minneapolis after they were swept by the New York Yankees mailed to the nation’s capital. It made it to the visitor’s clubhouse in a UPS box around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, and it was immediately placed near the batting cage. It’s only ridiculous if it doesn’t work.
“That’s our lucky sausage,” said Buxton, who broke his previous vow not to touch the sausage. “We didn’t have it in Cleveland, and things didn’t go right. Getting it back was big. I guess I’m going to have to hop on the train. I done touched it now.”
One day after manager Rocco Baldelli called out the team’s offensive approach and players conducted a team meeting, the Twins delivered their highest run total in a game since May 11 by scoring two runs in five separate innings.
Twins starter Joe Ryan, meanwhile, pitched seven scoreless innings to match his longest start of the season. He cut holes all over his undershirt to combat the humidity, an idea he picked up from long-distance runner Jim Walmsley, and he permitted three hits and two walks. Nobody reached third base against him.
