NEWSLETTER
The Minnesota Twins have done everything they can to cough up a weak AL Central this season, and the latest injury issue to Byron Buxton may signal the end of their contention this season. But first, let’s check in on the home run races!
Home Run Chases Update
Like his team, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has cooled off in recent weeks. Entering play on Monday, Judge had been homer-less since Friday, August 12, when he went yard in Boston. Judge ended that streak last night against the Mets.
Judge hit his 47th of the season off Mets starter Max Scherzer in the bottom of the third inning. The Yankees slugger’s nine-game homer-less streak was his longest of the season and the first time he has gone more than a week without a home run since a seven-game stretch from April 14 to April 22.
Judge is now two home runs behind Roger Maris’ 1961 pace when he set the Yankees franchise record with 61 home runs through 123 team games. Before the slump, Judge was flirting with Barry Bonds’ 2001 pace when Bonds hit 73 home runs. Judge is now seven home runs behind Bonds’ 2001 pace through 123 games.
Still, Aaron Judge’s pursuit of Maris is alive and well, and so is Albert Pujols’ pursuit of 700 home runs. Pujols entered play on Monday with 692 home runs and finished the night with 693 after taking Drew Smyly deep (Michael: Pssh…that homer would have left only one ballpark, it just happened to be the one he was in).
Pujols has been piping hot since the All-Star break and has more home runs (7) than the White Sox (6) and Red Sox (5) since August 10.
Home run chases are fun; we get a pair of them in the season’s final month. I’ve never had more fun as a baseball fan than I did in 1998, watching Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa duke it out all summer. This isn’t the same (Judge and Pujols are chasing two different milestones), but it’s going to be fun.
Byron Buxton Leaves With Hip Injury
Byron Buxton played in his 92nd game of the season on Monday night against the Rangers, marking the most games Buxton has played since he played 140 in 2017. This is the third time in his career that Buxton has played 92 or more games (2016, 2017). Still, in a scenario all-too-familiar for Twins fans, Buxton left last night’s contest with the Rangers in pain.
After fouling a pitch off in the fifth inning of the Twins’ loss to the Rangers, Buxton was in visible pain. While he stayed in the game at the time, Buxton was removed with what the twins are calling a hip injury. In his postgame presser, Rocco Baldelli said that Buxton has been dealing with this issue secretly for some time.
“I’m not sure exactly when he tweaked his hip, but he had a few things go on today where you could tell he was really feeling it,” Baldelli said. “We know over the last few days he’s been in a spot where he’s been on the verge of not being able to go out there, not being able to swing and run and do such things, but he’s continued to post up, and he’s continued to go out there and play. I don’t know what percentage he’s at, but it’s not a high percentage of what he can normally do physically.”
The Twins lost their third straight on Monday night and are two games behind the Cleveland Guardians as we sneak up on the season’s final month. Their chances to play in October this season may hinge on an MRI on Buxton’s latest ailment. Buxton has 28 home runs and 61 RBI this season and is sporting a 137 wRC+ and 4.0 fWAR for the Twins.
Rocco Baldelli complimented Buxton’s ability to play through pain last night this season, but that’s proof that even the Twins’ conservative approach with Buxton has failed. Buxton played in his 92nd game last night. The Twins have played 120 games, meaning that Buxton has played in just 76.6 percent of their games.
Entering play today, FanGraphs gives the Guardians a 47 percent chance of winning the AL Central. The Twins (26.7) and White Sox (25.6) split the remaining percentage, but the Twins might be at the end of the line if Buxton’s latest ailment is a long-term issue.
