April 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nThough there already have been several lows, panic hasn\u2019t surfaced in the Twins\u2019 clubhouse about the slow starts from Keaschall and Buxton, who are expected to be the team\u2019s offensive catalysts. Still, the Twins certainly preferred a better start than one that\u2019s seen the offense limited to one run four times in the early going.<\/p>\n
Entering Monday\u2019s series opener, Keaschall carried a .506 OPS, and Buxton\u2019s was .415. Overall, six Twins regulars with at least 23 plate appearances brought a sub-.600 OPS into Monday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
But the Twins also knew it would only be a matter of time before the pair gets going and their dynamic play would trickle down to the rest of the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe least of my concerns right now is Luke Keaschall,\u201d Twins manager Derek Shelton said. \u201cBuck is going to hit. And I told Buck this, actually, at some point before the game. I have a lot of worries in my life; Byron Buxton hitting is not one of them. He\u2019s going to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both men stepped up in ideal spots Monday.<\/p>\n
None was bigger than Keaschall\u2019s blast in the fourth. After watching Ryan labor through the fourth inning in near-freezing temperatures (the wind chill at first pitch was 29 degrees), the Twins wanted to give their All-Star starting pitcher ample time to recuperate and warm up in the clubhouse. Efficient for his first three innings, Ryan\u2019s 39 pitches while allowing three runs in the fourth were one fewer than he\u2019d combined to throw in the first three frames.<\/p>\n
With one out and Trevor Larnach (two singles, two runs) on first, Keaschall ripped a 2-1 fastball on the hands from Detroit\u2019s Casey Mize out to left, a 367-foot homer with just enough giddyap to give the Twins a 5-3 lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe offense did a really good job with long at-bats, they scored some runs there and gave me time to recover and get a little warmer inside,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cThat\u2019s always appreciated. \u2026 They picked me back up.\u201d<\/p>\n
They also propped up Ryan the inning before with a three-run rally started when Buxton led off the third inning with a double, his first extra-base hit since March 29. Though they came up empty with the bases loaded in the second inning, the Twins wouldn\u2019t waste their later chances. After Buxton doubled, Larnach singled, and Keaschall walked to load the bases. One out later, Caratini\u2019s sac fly gave the Twins a 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n
Wallner and Royce Lewis extended the lead to three runs with a pair of two-out, RBI singles.<\/p>\n
Keaschall also extended a putaway rally in the eighth inning when he drew another walk to load the bases ahead of Caratini\u2019s two-out, two-run single.<\/p>\n
\u201cBaseball comes in waves,\u201d Keaschall said afterward. \u201cI feel you\u2019re going to have some really hot stretches and some really cold stretches, but the shorter you can keep the cold and the more even keeled you can stay through it, the better. You can\u2019t hit 1.000 your whole life, so just try to be the same guy every day and keep fighting and find your best self.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keaschall demonstrated what his best self can look like all spring. Everything off the former top prospect\u2019s bat was a laser as he sliced and diced Grapefruit League pitchers. Keaschall batted .377\/.411\/.717 over 56 plate appearances.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt electric,\u201d Keaschall said. \u201cI felt like I was firing on all cylinders.\u201d<\/p>\n
But when the season started, Keaschall wasn\u2019t on the same track. Balls that evaded gloves in Florida found them in Baltimore, Kansas City and at home. Keaschall, who had a .340 average on balls in play last season, had only a .250 BABIP entering Monday. A player expected to wreak havoc on the bases was struggling to do so.<\/p>\n
Still, it was only nine games.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he thought a pair of early off days disrupted his rhythm, Keaschall shrugged it off. The fact there were seven game times for first pitch in the team\u2019s first nine games doesn\u2019t bother him, either. Keaschall offered a similar response when asked about playing in frigid temperatures at Target Field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like excuses,\u201d Keaschall said. \u201cI felt great this spring, and then I haven\u2019t been as hot as I\u2019d like to be to start the year, but that\u2019s baseball. I\u2019m trying to find it. I\u2019m close. Obviously, I\u2019m not where I need to be, but I\u2019ll find it soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keaschall thought his teammates were of a similar mindset. Yes, the Twins had struggled. But everyone recognizes they\u2019re only one-sixteenth of the way into a season, and the offense could turn it around quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys understand we play 162 games in a season,\u201d Keaschall said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to stress too much if we don\u2019t have the best first 10 games of the year. We won (13) games in a row last year. Things can change in the snap of a finger. The more you can think like that, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rookie Laweryson recognized after win<\/p>\n
Before he addressed the media Monday, Cody Laweryson needed a few extra minutes to clean up. The rookie pitcher\u2019s teammates showered him with beer and other substances after he retired all five batters he faced and converted the first save of his career.<\/p>\n
With two Twins ahead by two runs, Laweryson entered in the eighth and stranded a pair of runners left on by Kody Funderburk to preserve the lead. When Caratini\u2019s eighth-inning hit extended the lead to four, Cole Sands sat down in the bullpen, and Laweryson was asked to secure the ninth inning as well. He did so with an easy 1-2-3 inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels pretty good,\u201d Laweryson said. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to stay locked in until Shelty shakes my hand. He hadn\u2019t done that. I kind of figured that was the situation. Cole is one of our guys, and he could\u2019ve got the job done if it was a two-run lead. Once we got it to four, I was still locked in regardless, but I knew it was probably my inning again.\u201d<\/p>\n