Buxton (HR, 2B) picks up where he left off

ARLINGTON -- Baseball is better with a healthy Byron Buxton, and so, too, clearly, are the Minnesota Twins.

Make it four wins in a row for the Twins following Sunday's 4-2 win over the Rangers that secured a three-game sweep at Globe Life Field, only their second sweep of the season and matching their season-long win streak. That’s the kind of jolt the Twins get with Buxton right back in the middle of the action as the center fielder continued his interrupted bid for the All-Star Game with a massive two-run homer and a double in his second game back off the injured list.

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“Byron just picks back up where he kind of left off,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “These are the kinds of things that he does, and he’s just a fantastic player. It’s not just the big swings and everything. He gets our dugout going, he gets our clubhouse going and together. We can do a lot of good things when he’s out there.”

With Luis Arraez, Max Kepler and Kenta Maeda, too, recently activated from the IL, things finally appear to be clicking for the Twins, who clubbed 14 hits -- their most since May 2 -- including three hits apiece from Arraez, Trevor Larnach and Andrelton Simmons.

“We have more to come, but when that happens, you feel the vibe,” Baldelli said. “You feel the strength that those guys bring. Then, they go in the game and they bring it and they produce. When you see that, all of the things you look forward to, your suspicions that good things are coming, they start to happen.”

A healthy Buxton was back in the No. 2 spot in the lineup for a second straight game after healing from a hip strain, and he loudly announced his presence with a 426-foot homer to the second deck in left field in his first plate appearance against Rangers starter Dane Dunning. He later added a double down the left-field line in the fourth inning as the Twins put pressure on the right-hander with 10 hits during his four-inning start.

Buxton had professed following his first rehab game with Triple-A St. Paul on June 8 that he didn’t feel totally comfortable at the plate -- even before he finished that rehab assignment 5-for-9 with two homers, a double and a triple.

Regardless of how he feels, he sure looks comfortable -- and the performance has left no doubt so far.

“I think that there’s the physical component here, and then there’s the mental side of knowing that you haven’t been out there in a while,” Baldelli said. “Some people come back ... maybe doubting themselves or taking things slow or playing a little bit passively at the very beginning once you hit the field. Buck doesn’t do any of that. He just goes out there, no fear.”

Though Minnesota didn’t do as much damage as it could have with all that early action against Dunning, Kepler’s RBI knock in the third inning -- coupled with a run-scoring error from right fielder Joey Gallo -- drove home what proved the game-winning runs in his third game back following his recovery from a left hamstring strain.

All that backed a stingy outing from Maeda, who allowed two runs in 5 1/3 frames in his second start since returning from a right adductor strain and right forearm soreness. He cruised through the first five innings before allowing back-to-back homers to Adolis García and Joey Gallo to finish his day -- but the Twins’ bullpen once again took care of business in a tight game, twirling 3 2/3 scoreless innings to finish the series with one earned run allowed in 11 2/3 frames.

“The arm feels great,” said Maeda, who has seen his average fastball velocity increase from 89.6 mph in his last outing prior to his injury, to 90.4 mph on Monday, to 91.0 mph in this start. “It’s nice to have the speed back, especially with the arm feeling strong. … Today, I was able to go full strength, so that really felt good.”

It sure is a different feeling with all of these guys back on the diamond -- and much of it starts with the All-Star hopeful center fielder.

“It's great to have that, and these guys getting back into the lineup like Byron, it speaks for itself,” reliever Tyler Duffey said. “He comes up and did exactly what he did before he got hurt. It's contributing as a big part of our wins.”