Minnesota Twins CF Byron Buxton named AL Player of the Week

FOX 9 Sports Now: Jim Rich talks Twins baseball with CF Byron Buxton

The Minnesota Twins got their first win of the 2022 season on Sunday, and after hitting two home runs in the game, Byron Buxton talked baseball with Jim Rich.

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday.

It’s the second time Buxton has won the award in his career, and first since 2017. He’s the first Twins’ player to get it since Nelson Cruz in July of 2020.

Over the past week, Buxton hit .333 (7-for-21) with five homers, seven RBI, one double and scored eight runs over a six-game stretch. He’s also got a 1.095 slugging percentage over that stretch. Buxton homered in three straight games last week, including hitting two in the Twins’ 10-7 loss to the New York Yankees last Thursday. He hit two more on Friday, becoming the fifth player in Twins/Senators history to do so.

Buxton has 17 home runs on the season, the most in franchise history over the first 43 games of a season. Buxton also joined Harmon Killebrew as the only Twins to hit home runs in the first two innings of a game twice in a season.

The Twins are in Seattle to start a three-game series Monday night. They’re 35-27 and have a three-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.