FORT MYERS (WDAE) -- Byron Buxton homered and drove in five runs as the Minnesota Twins defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 10-5 Saturday at Hammond Stadium.
The Rays started things against Kohl Stewart in the top of the first, as Brandon Lowe's RBI double scored Joey Wendle for a 1-0 lead. But Ryan Yarbrough could not get a shutdown inning, allowing three runs on an RBI single by Eddie Rosario and a two-run base hit from Buxton before exiting. Jake Faria gave up a sacrifice fly to Willians Astudillo, but got out the first with no other damage, and turned in a strong second inning with a pair of strikeouts.
Austin Meadows' 2-RBI double in the second had cut the deficit back to 4-3, but Buxton blasted a three-run homer off Jalen Beeks in the bottom of the third gave the Twins a 7-3 advantage and the team never looked back. They added three more runs in the fifth thanks to a two-run single by Aaron Whitefield, and a fielding error by Nick Solak on a ground ball by Alex Kiriloff that would have ended the inning.
Tampa Bay scraped across single runs in the sixth and eighth, but Minnesota was able to finish off the contest with relative ease.
The Rays will return to Charlotte Sports Park Sunday to welcome in the New York Yankees. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05, with coverage on WDAE beginning at 11:30 with The Inside Pitch.
Listen to postgame comments from Jake Faria and Ryan Yarbrough below!