Notes: Buxton surging; Baldelli baby arrives

CLEVELAND -- Seeing Byron Buxton back in the Twins' lineup nearly two weeks ago was a sight for sore eyes in Minnesota. Watching him produce again at the plate makes it all the better.

Buxton reached outside of the strike zone during the fifth inning of Minnesota's 5-2 victory over Cleveland on Tuesday for his first homer since June 20 and his first since returning from the injured list -- and just as significantly, that homer helped him produce consecutive multihit games, a sign that his potent bat is finally waking up.

"Most definitely, I feel a little bit more comfortable in the batter’s box and I can definitely tell my at-bats are starting to get a little bit better, starting to compete a little bit better in the batter’s box and feel my way out," Buxton said. "It’s just the process of battling and coming back."

Buxton gave the Twins his customary elite defense in center field upon his return -- a vast improvement in and of itself -- but while sporting a protective sleeve on his left hand, Buxton's performance at the plate took a while to pick up, with the center fielder going 2-for-30 with a pair of walks in his first eight games off the IL.

Though Buxton's whiff rate in that span was 31.3 percent -- barely above his overall season whiff rate of 30.9 percent -- and his strikeouts weren't considerably up, his contact didn't come with the same authority as it did when he was delivering elite, MVP-caliber performances earlier in the season, when he won American League Player of the Month in April before the injuries started taking their toll.

Buxton noted that one of the plate appearances that helped prime this small surge came in Sunday's series finale against Tampa Bay, when he stayed back on a slider from reliever J.P. Feyereisen and lined it down the right-field line for a ground-rule double. He followed that with three hits in his next five plate appearances across two games, including Tuesday's homer.

"I was able to put the ball into right field and it kind of jumpstarted me a little bit to relax a little bit more in the batter’s box and just let things happen," Buxton said.

Aside from the early competition among the Twins' young starters jostling for position on the 2022 roster and the continued auditions of position players Nick Gordon and Brent Rooker, Buxton's September performance could also prove among the more significant storylines of the fall considering the uncertainty that could await following this season.

This winter could be a pivotal time for the Twins to either work out an extension with Buxton or trade him as they determine their overall direction for next year.

And simply put: Baseball is more compelling with Buxton beating out infield hits, blasting baseballs into the bleachers and making highlight-reel grabs -- and any steps toward his ability to do that again could still make for plenty of excitement in what remains of this year.

"I think just with Byron, he wants to excel so bad that he wants it to happen now, and with the number of at-bats he’s been getting, it’s starting to feel better for him and the hits are starting to come," acting manager Bill Evers said.

Welcome to the Twins family, Louisa
The Baldelli family -- and Twins family -- grew by one early Tuesday morning, when the Twins' skipper and wife Allie welcomed a healthy six-pound, eight-ounce baby girl, Louisa Sunny Baldelli, in Minneapolis. Both mother and daughter are said to be doing well.

Baldelli left the Twins during Sunday's series finale in St. Petersburg to be with Allie for the birth and is expected back with the team for Friday's opener against the Royals at Target Field, according to Evers.

"It brings tears to my eyes knowing that he texted me right after the baby was born," Evers said.

Rooker was also back in the starting lineup on Tuesday as he and his wife, Allie, expect their daughter to be born any day.