The Minnesota Twins will go for a three-game sweep against the Pittsburgh Pirates when the teams meet Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis on the final day before the All-Star break.
Pittsburgh has lost eight games in a row, and Minnesota has won six of its past eight. A victory Sunday would put the Twins at .500 as they enter the break. They held on for a 2-1 win over the Pirates in the series opener Friday and followed with a 12-4 victory on Saturday.
Minnesota’s Byron Buxton will look to stay hot in the series finale. He hit for the cycle on Saturday and finished 5-for-5 with two singles, a double, a triple, a home run and two RBIs.
Buxton achieved the feat on the same day the Twins distributed his bobblehead to fans as part of a promotional giveaway. He became the first player to hit for the cycle at Target Field — which opened in 2010 — and the 12th player in Twins history to hit for the cycle.
“That was one of the greatest individual performances I’ve ever seen,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s playing like this every day, where you think almost anything’s possible.
“It’s like when one of those pitchers who take the mound every outing and you’re like, ‘This guy might throw a no-hitter,’ every game. That’s the way Buck’s playing as a position player: dialed in, affecting every aspect of the game and, like (Saturday), taking over games, too.
“Incredible. Anyone that was here today will never forget it.”
The Twins will try to avoid a letdown against Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller (3-10, 3.58 ERA), who is set to make his 20th start of the season. He is coming off back-to-back quality starts against the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals.
In two career games against the Twins, both starts, Keller is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA. He has walked three and struck out 20 in 12 innings.
Minnesota will counter with right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.08), who will make his 14th start. He is 3-1 with a 1.38 ERA in his past five outings.
Woods Richardson maintained his hot streak Tuesday in his most recent start. He threw five scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs in an 8-1 victory while allowing two hits, walking three and striking out four.
This will be Woods Richardson’s second career start against the Pirates. In his first matchup, he took the loss despite allowing only one run on six hits in 6 1/3 innings last season. He walked none and struck out six.
The Pirates might be without center fielder Oneil Cruz, who left Saturday’s game after hitting a single in the eighth inning. He suffered an apparent leg injury while trying to make a catch in the previous inning, and it flared up as he ran to first during his single.
Pirates manager Don Kelly said he hopes Cruz isn’t dealing with anything serious.
“We’re still evaluating,” Kelly said. “Hopefully, more precautionary there. He tried to rob that home run and felt a little something in his hip flexor area. So we’ll see how he’s doing.
“(But) yeah, after the single, it didn’t look like he was doing too well.”