Byron Buxton's hitting, Mick Abel's pitching power Twins past Red Sox

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Apr 14, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — Byron Buxton, one day after he became the sole home run leader in Target Field’s history, decided to show all the different ways he can dominate a game.

Want more power? Buxton hit two more home runs, the 18th multi-homer game in his career.

Want more speed? Buxton hit a leadoff single in the first inning, advanced on a balk, then scored from second base on a bloop single to center field.

The Buck Truck and the Twins cruised along in a 6-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night at Target Field.

Mick Abel struck out a career-high 10 batters across seven scoreless innings. The Twins have won eight of their last nine games, and they earned their third consecutive series victory.

The Twins have scored at least six runs in four straight games.

Buxton produced one of those individual performances that leaves teammates and opponents in awe. In the first inning, he poked Sonny Gray’s third pitch into left field for a single. Gray, who starred in the Twins rotation from 2022-23, committed an absent-minded balk, and Buxton didn’t need much else to create a run.

Two batters later, Luke Keaschall dropped a single into center field. Buxton touched third base after center fielder Jarren Duran threw the ball toward the infield, and he was still halfway between third and home when Willson Contreras made a relay throw from the mound. Buxton, somehow, beat Contreras’ throw with a headfirst slide.

It was an aggressive send from Twins third-base coach Ramon Borrego, but there are exceptions for Buxton.

In the third inning, Buxton ambushed a first-pitch curveball from Gray and drilled it to the second deck in left field. Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez peeked at the ball’s flight, then slumped his head.

After Buxton hit his 85 th homer at Target Field on Monday, April 13, he gave a postgame speech to his teammates as the home run ball was presented to him. He doesn’t enjoy speaking in front of large groups, though he’s had a few milestones this year that it’s become a regular occurrence, but he told players that it’s been a fun start to the season, and they need to keep playing for each other.

More of the Twins offense chipped in during the fourth inning. Brooks Lee hit a leadoff homer, pulling an inside fastball over the right field wall for his third homer of the season, and his first as a left-handed batter.

Tristan Gray and Buxton followed with back-to-back singles, and Trevor Larnach drove a two-run single to the right-field wall before he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

The Twins handed Gray his first loss since he was traded from the rebuilding St. Louis Cardinals to the Red Sox last winter. Gray allowed five runs on nine hits and one walk in four innings, totaling only one strikeout.

For Gray, who entered with a 2.76 ERA through three starts, it was the first time he didn’t strike out at least four batters in an outing since June 3, 2023, when he was with the Twins.

Red Sox reliever Jack Anderson, making his major league debut, struck out the first three batters he faced and four of his first five hitters. Then Buxton golfed a low slider and lofted it over the left-field wall for a solo homer in the sixth inning.

Buxton broke into a wide smile after taking three steps out of the batter’s box. His 18 multi-homer games matched Tony Oliva for the third-most in Twins history, trailing only Justin Morneau (20) and Harmon Killebrew (35).

Abel, acquired from Philadelphia last summer in the Jhoan Durna trade, was every bit as dominant as Buxton. He allowed four hits and zero walks against a Red Sox team that saw him twice during spring training, and he totaled 10 strikeouts on five different pitch types.

The Red Sox had only one baserunner touch second base against Abel. Contreras was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning and moved up a base on a passed ball.

Abel, typically stoic on the mound, let out a yell when he struck out Narváez with a 96-mph fastball to end the seventh inning, his final batter. It was the longest start of his major league career.

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