Twins takeaways: Byron Buxton does it all, Bailey Ober grinds, Brooks Lee vs. fastballs

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MINNEAPOLIS — By land, by sea or by air, Byron Buxton is finding different ways to make a significant impact for the Twins.

Following three big days with the bat, Buxton used his wheels and an accurate, strong arm to help the Twins complete their second series sweep of the season on Thursday afternoon. Buxton walked twice, scored two runs, stole a base and made a critical defensive play as the Twins rallied to beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2, increasing their season-best winning streak to five in front of an announced crowd of 17,410 at Target Field.

Brooks Lee provided arguably his biggest hit in a Twins uniform, Bailey Ober gutted his way through five innings and the bullpen delivered again as the team improved to 18-20. Ty France also had two two-out RBI singles and finished with three of the Twins’ five hits.

But it was Buxton’s picture-perfect throw home in the sixth inning that had the postgame clubhouse abuzz.

“It was another play for (Buxton’s) reel,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I thought there was a chance, (but) you’ve basically got to make a perfect throw. You’ve got to make a perfect throw from 250 feet away, as quickly as you can. He’s the man. … On top of his legs and how those move, his arm moves like that too.”

Runners beware: Buck has an incredible arm pic.twitter.com/BHGfunueQT

— Twins.TV (@twinstv) May 8, 2025

Buxton, who once threw 95 mph fastballs in a Georgia high school state championship game in front of then-Twins general manager Terry Ryan, always has featured a big, accurate arm. But over the years, opposing teams have recognized his throwing abilities and given him fewer opportunities.

With the Twins trailing by a run, Buxton fielded Gunnar Henderson’s one-out single on a bounce and fired a one-hopper home in time to nail Emmanuel Rivera at the plate. It was Buxton’s second outfield assist of the season.

In the bottom half of the inning, Trevor Larnach belted a tying solo homer for the Twins. Larnach smiled when asked about Buxton’s contribution, which comes on the heels of the center fielder homering in three straight games and driving in eight runs.

Buxton also drew a leadoff walk in the first inning, stole second base and scored on the first of France’s three singles.

“It’s pretty unbelievable,” Larnach said. “It’s fun to watch, man. I’m thanking God he’s healthy and I’m praying he stays healthy for sure. … Watching him play the way he is, it’s like you’re watching one of the best players on the planet play in all facets — defense, on the basepaths, obviously in the box. He makes it look so easy, man.”

With Harrison Bader on second and one out in the eighth, Buxton drew his second walk of the game. One out later, Buxton splashed across the plate with a slide ahead of a relay throw home after Lee doubled off the bullpen wall.

Brooks like a brand new ballgame!!! pic.twitter.com/KHx45l0ybZ

— Twins.TV (@twinstv) May 8, 2025

Buxton is batting .270/.311/.533 and leads the Twins with nine home runs and eight stolen bases in eight tries.

“He’s quite dynamic,” Baldelli said after Wednesday night’s victory.

Here are several other Twins takeaways.

Brooks Lee celebrates his eighth-inning double. (Matt Krohn / Imagn Images)

• A former top-20 prospect, Lee showed mettle by shaking off a horrid game to provide his team with late-inning heroics.

Facing a steady diet of curveballs from Baltimore starter Dean Kremer while batting left-handed, Lee struggled in his first three trips to the plate. Of Kremer’s 15 pitches to Lee in striking him out three times, eight were curveballs, a pitch the Twins infielder has struggled to hit this season.

Lee also had a defensive lapse when he played back on a hard-hit grounder off Ryan O’Hearn’s bat in the third inning. His error led to Baltimore grabbing a 2-1 lead.

But Lee credited encouragement received from Buxton, Harrison Bader and injured teammate Matt Waller for helping him remain focused. First he got back on track by starting a slick 4-6-3 double play in the fourth inning.

Then, batting right-handed against reliever Gregory Soto in the eighth, he blasted a 98 mph fastball to give the Twins a two-run lead.

“I felt horrible for the first eight innings,” Lee said. “But I picked it up and knew I was going to do something special. … I don’t have a choice. I need to stay focused, especially at this level. Every at-bat is a new one. That’s what I took into it and that’s what happened.”

Injured to start the season, Lee is hitting .253/.309/.387 in 81 plate appearances, good for a 100 Weighted Runs Created Plus, which is league average. The figure represents a big leap from Lee’s rookie season, when he finished with a 62 wRC+.

One reason for the jump is Lee’s improved health thus far after dealing with back and shoulder issues last season. The other is his renewed ability to crush four-seam fastballs.

Last season, Lee finished with a minus-6 run value against fastballs, hitting .193 with a .228 slugging percentage against four-seamers. Entering Thursday, Lee was hitting .450 with an .800 slugging percentage against heaters, good for a plus-4 run value.

“You have to experience these things,” Baldelli said. “You have to go out there and struggle in some at-bats in a game and then find a way to come through at the end of the game.”

• Two days after learning he’d make the start because Joe Ryan was ill, Ober lived on the edge against Baltimore. Starting with one out in the second inning after he yielded an RBI double to Rivera, Ober retired eight straight batters with a runner on third base (though one was a go-ahead sac fly).

After Rivera doubled to put runners on second and third, Ober struck out Maverick Handley and Henderson to end the second.

Lee’s error in the third put runners on the corners and Ryan Mountcastle hit a sac fly to put Baltimore ahead 2-1. The O’s threatened to increase the lead when Ramón Laureano doubled to put runners on second and third with one out, but Ober struck out Heston Kjerstad and Coby Mayo.

After the right-hander hit O’Hearn with a pitch ahead of Mountcastle’s double in the fifth, Laureano popped out, Kjerstad struck out and Mayo grounded out.

Ober allowed two runs (one earned) and eight hits with a walk and a hit batter in five innings. He struck out six and lowered his ERA to 3.50, including yielding only nine earned runs in his last 41 innings (1.98) since his disastrous first start.

“It was definitely a grindy one,” Ober said. “I’m pretty tired right now. … There was a lot of traffic and I had to make some pitches when guys were in scoring position and was able to do so.”

• A week after he was named the American League’s defensive player of the month, Bader, who began the winning rally with a walk and a stolen base, saved another run with his glove.

When Mountcastle ripped a 104.5 mph double to left-center, Bader took a deeper route to the ball that allowed him to slide and cut it off before it reached the wall, which prevented O’Hearn from scoring on the play. Ober retired the next three batters to keep the Twins within a run.

“I can’t imagine an outfield defense that’s helping their team win games the way ours does,” Baldelli said.

• Dating back to Sunday’s win over the Red Sox, Twins relievers are on a 13 1/3 scoreless innings streak, including 12 1/3 shutout frames versus Baltimore. The stretch has lowered the bullpen’s ERA to 3.42. The unit entered Thursday with 1.8 WAR, according to FanGraphs, good for sixth in the majors.

Jhoan Duran has converted four saves since Saturday, striking out six over four scoreless innings.

“We feel good,” Duran said. “At some point, we got down. We’re now up. That’s the work. If we’re down, we need to stay with our head up, and be ready for the next day and do the work.”

SWEEEEEEEP pic.twitter.com/42Wo5aLXWm

— Twins.TV (@twinstv) May 8, 2025

• Stricken with a similar illness to the one that kept Bader out of the starting lineup for two days, Ryan’s next start was moved back to Saturday after he was scratched Thursday. The Twins announced Chris Paddack would pitch in Friday’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants.

• Out with a left hamstring strain since April 16, Wallner is running every other day but has yet to graduate to running on the field. If everything with his recovery goes well, Wallner is likely still several weeks away from starting a rehab assignment.

(Photo of Byron Buxton: Ellen Schmidt / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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