MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Twins this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

• Twins Stat of the Day, August 2021

Oct. 3: Twins 7, Royals 3 -- Buxton finishes in style
This stats page has turned into a Byron Buxton best-of compilation over the last week, so we'll finish the season off by, once more, highlighting Buxton's double and home run in the season finale against the Royals, which made him the fifth player in Twins history with at least eight extra-base hits in a four-game span. He joins Jorge Polanco (2021), Torii Hunter (2001), Matt Lawton (2001) and Tony Oliva (twice in 1969).

Oct. 2: Twins 4, Royals 0 -- Buxton's extra-base power
With a double in Minnesota's series-evening victory, Byron Buxton became the first player in AL/NL history to knock 40 extra-base hits (18 homers, 22 doubles) while playing 61 or fewer games in a season. This marked Buxton's 60th game of the year, which means he'll finish at no more than 61 games played in 2021.

Oct. 1: Royals 11, Twins 6 -- Power from behind the plate
Ryan Jeffers crushed his 14th homer of the season, a solo shot, in a continuation of the second season in Twins history in which multiple catchers hit at least 13 homers (also including Mitch Garver). The only other time it happened was in 2019, when Garver (31 homers) won the AL Silver Slugger Award at catcher and Jason Castro added 13 blasts.

Sept. 30: Tigers 10, Twins 7 -- Buck's mighty bat
With two homers and a double in the Twins' home finale at Target Field, Byron Buxton matched the second-highest total of his career with 10 total bases while also setting a new career-high with 18 homers in 58 games. His previous career-best was 16 blasts in 140 games set during the 2017 season.

Sept. 29: Twins 5, Tigers 2 -- Buxton runs wild
Byron Buxton stole second base and advanced to third on an error during the eighth inning, giving him 71 successful stolen bases in 81 career attempts. That marks a success rate of 87.65 percent, second-highest in AL/NL history among players with at least 80 attempts, trailing only former Twins utility man Alexi Casilla (87.91 percent). Two more successful stolen bases without a caught stealing would put Buxton on top of the leaderboard.

Sept. 28: Twins 3, Tigers 2 -- Sanó in elite company
Miguel Sanó reached the 30-homer mark for the second time in his career with a seventh-inning blast off Tigers reliever José Ureña, becoming the seventh player in club history with multiple 30-homer seasons. He joined Harmon Killebrew (eight times), Justin Morneau (three), Bob Allison (two), Gary Gaetti (two), Tom Brunansky (two) and Brian Dozier (two).

Sept. 26: Blue Jays 5, Twins 2 -- Buxton takes his walks
Known for his low walk rates since entering the league, Byron Buxton has complemented his recent power surge by drawing a walk in four consecutive games, the first time he's done that since 2017. He's one game shy of his career-long walk streak of five games, set from April 24-30, 2017.

Sept. 25: Blue Jays 6, Twins 1 -- Moran makes 'em miss
Rookie left-hander Jovani Moran racked up an impressive 10 whiffs on 15 swings in two perfect innings of relief, matching the third-highest whiff rate in an appearance by a Twins pitcher since Statcast began tracking in 2015 (min. 10 swings). Only Cody Stashak (April 11) and Sergio Romo (Sept. 20, 2020) have generated higher whiff rates in an outing in that time.

Sept. 24: Twins 3, Blue Jays 1 -- Ober's impressive rookie season
Bailey Ober struck out six and didn't issue a walk in 5 1/3 strong innings against Toronto, bringing his strikeout total for the season to 96. That's the most by a Twins rookie pitcher since Trevor May collected 110 strikeouts during the 2015 season.

Sept. 23: Twins 7, Blue Jays 2 -- Gordon moves around
In addition to recording his first career four-RBI game in the Twins' win over Toronto, Nick Gordon also played right field for the first time in his career, joining Danny Santana, Denny Hocking, Jeff Reboulet, Kirby Puckett, Jerry Terrell and Cesar Tovar as the only players in Twins history to appear at second base, third base, shortstop, left field, center field and right field in the same season.

Sept. 22: Twins 5, Cubs 4 -- Ryan's strikeout success
In just five innings, Joe Ryan was as sharp as ever. With a career-high 11 strikeouts, Ryan became the first pitcher in Twins and Senators history to fan 11 or more batters in five or fewer innings. Ryan also set a Twins rookie record for most consecutive strikeouts (seven) since the franchise moved to Minnesota.

Sept. 21: Twins 9, Cubs 5 -- Jax's sporadic night
Griffin Jax hit three batters and struck out six through three innings, marking the seventh time in Twins history in which a pitcher has recorded such an outing, and the first since Bert Blyleven on Sept. 28, 1988.

Sept. 19: Blue Jays 5, Twins 3 -- Here comes the next wave
With Ben Rortvedt's seventh-inning blast off former teammate José Berríos, five Twins rookies (Rortvedt, Ryan Jeffers, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach and Brent Rooker) have hit three or more homers this season, tied for second-most in club history with the 2013 team (Oswaldo Arcia, Chris Colabello, Chris Herrmann, Aaron Hicks and Josmil Pinto). The 1982 Twins hold the record with nine such rookies.

Sept. 18: Blue Jays 6, Twins 2 -- Rogers Centre streak snapped
Before this loss to the Blue Jays, the Twins had won their last eight games played at Rogers Centre, tied for the fourth-longest winning streak at any opponent's ballpark in club history. That stretch, dating back to Aug. 27, 2017, fell three shy of Minnesota's 11-game winning streak at Comerica Park from July 2002 to Aug. 2003, which still stands as the club record.

Sept. 17: Twins 7, Blue Jays 3 -- Back-to-back-to-back blasts
The Twins stormed ahead of the Blue Jays in the third inning by opening the frame with five consecutive hits, including three straight home runs from Jorge Polanco, Josh Donaldson and Miguel Sanó. It marked the first time the Twins hit three homers in a row since April 26, 2019, when Nelson Cruz, Eddie Rosario and C.J. Cron all took the Orioles' Alex Cobb deep. It's also the third time the Twins have hit three homers in an inning against Toronto, with the last coming in 1986.

Sept. 15: Indians 12, Twins 3 -- Sanó launches one
The Twins' offense had no answer for Cleveland's pitching staff outside of a three-run blast by Miguel Sanó that traveled a Statcast-projected 420 feet in the seventh inning, marking his team-leading 12th homer to be launched at least that far this season. The most such homers he's hit in a year is 13, as part of Minnesota's 2019 "Bomba Squad."

Sept. 14: Indians 3, Twins 1 (7); Twins 6, Indians 3 (7) -- Ryan makes history
Before rookie right-hander Joe Ryan exited the first game of the doubleheader with a right wrist contusion sustained upon being hit by a comebacker, he became the ninth pitcher in AL/NL history to pitch at least five innings and allow no more than three hits in each of his first three career games. The last pitcher to accomplish that feat was Tanner Houck of the Red Sox, last September.

Sept. 13: Yankees 6, Twins 5 (10 innings) -- Extras galore
The Twins' 10-inning loss in the Bronx marked their 23rd extra-inning game of 2021, matching the franchise record for a season. The 2005 Twins, 1918 Senators and 1916 Senators also played 23 extras contests.

Sept. 12: Royals 5, Twins 3 -- Ober's control stays sharp
With six strikeouts and no walks in 4 1/3 innings, right-hander Bailey Ober has 87 strikeouts and 17 walks this season, giving him a 5.12 strikeout-to-walk ratio that ranks first among rookie seasons in Twins history (minimum 80 innings). It's the 10th-best mark among all rookie seasons in AL/NL history on a leaderboard topped by Masahiro Tanaka, who had a 6.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio (141 strikeouts, 21 walks) in his rookie campaign in 2014.

Sept. 11: Twins 9, Royals 2 -- Polanco tops among switch-hitters
With his first-inning solo blast and two-run shot in the fifth inning off Kansas City right-hander Brady Singer, Jorge Polanco has now hit 29 homers in 2021, matching Chili Davis' club record for most in a season by a switch-hitter, set in 1991. Polanco has the second-most homers among switch-hitters this season, trailing only the 33 by José Ramírez.

Sept. 10: Royals 6, Twins 4 (11 innings) -- Donaldson drives one
The Twins' biggest blast of the day came off the bat of Byron Buxton in the first inning and traveled a Statcast-projected 457 feet to center field, but Josh Donaldson also set a personal record with his homer three batters later, when he crushed a go-ahead, three-run homer a projected 423 feet to left. That shot left his bat at 113.6 mph, his hardest-hit homer of the Statcast era (since 2015).

Sept. 9: Indians 4, Twins 1 -- Season series secured
Despite the Twins' loss and the three remaining games between Minnesota and Cleveland this season, the Twins secured the victory in the season series as they leave Progressive Field with a 10-6 record against their division rivals in 2021, securing their first consecutive winning seasons against Cleveland since they did so three years in a row from 2008-10.

Sept. 8: Twins 3, Indians 0 -- Not your average Joe
Joe Ryan flirted with history as he pitched to his first career win by retiring the first 19 Cleveland hitters he faced, allowing just one hit -- a single -- in seven scoreless frames to helm a shutout at Progressive Field. He's the first pitcher in AL history to throw at least seven shutout innings while allowing no more than one baserunner among his first two career starts, and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's the first Twins pitcher to retire the first 19 hitters of a start since Francisco Liriano, on June 12, 2011.

Sept. 7: Twins 3, Indians 0 -- Colomé works overtime
The Twins have leaned heavily on Alex Colomé since they remade their bullpen due to injuries and the July 30 Trade Deadline, and the veteran right-hander completed Minnesota's shutout as he pitched for a fourth straight day. That marked his first time pitching that many days in a row since June 3-6, 2016, with the Rays, and the first time the Twins have used a pitcher on four consecutive days since Rocco Baldelli took over as manager in 2019.

Sept. 6: Twins 5, Indians 2 -- Polanco's well-rounded game
When Jorge Polanco doubled three times and homered for a career-high four extra-base hits, he became the eighth player in Twins history with a season of at least 27 homers, 32 doubles and 10 stolen bases -- and only the third to have such a season in the Majors this year, joining Marcus Semien of the Blue Jays and Bryce Harper of the Phillies.

Sept. 5: Twins 6, Rays 5 -- Arraez to the occasion
Luis Arraez drove in a pair with his second-inning single and added knocks in the fourth and eighth innings, accounting for his 21st three-hit game since he made his debut in 2019. Only Jorge Polanco and Nelson Cruz have more three-hit games as Twins in that time, with 28 apiece.

Sept. 4: Rays 11, Twins 4 -- Sanó goes way deep
Before Miguel Sanó exited with a left shoulder contusion in the fourth inning, he crushed a homer to straightaway center field that traveled a Statcast-estimated 444 feet, marking his 24th blast of at least 440 feet in the Statcast era (since 2015). That ranks him eighth among all hitters in such homers in that span, behind Giancarlo Stanton, Nelson Cruz, Joey Gallo, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Trevor Story and Carlos González.

Sept. 3: Rays 5, Twins 3 -- Polanco second among switch-hitters
Jorge Polanco crushed a first-inning solo homer off Rays right-hander Michael Wacha, extending his career-high homer total this season to 25. He now holds sole possession of second place for single-season homers among switch-hitters in Twins history, trailing only Chili Davis' 29 blasts in 1991.

Sept. 1: Cubs 3, Twins 0 -- Ryan rings 'em up
No. 6 Twins prospect Joe Ryan made his Major League debut with five strikeouts in five innings of three-run ball, including 14 swinging strikes, the most by any Twins pitcher making his big league debut since Statcast began tracking in 2015.