PHOENIX — Center fielder Byron Buxton launched a grand slam Saturday night, his 24th home run of the season, as the Minnesota Twins put up a stunning 10-run fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The blast tied Buxton with Houston’s Yordan Alvarez atop the American League home run leaderboard and pushed the score to 12-0 in favor of Minnesota. It was the third grand slam of Buxton’s career.
The Twins had already built a 6-0 lead after batting around and plating four runs in the fourth inning. They went even further in the fifth, sending 14 batters to the plate. Brooks Lee, Victor Caratini, Luke Keaschall, and Ryan Kriedler each recorded two hits during that inning. Kriedler capped the outburst with a run-scoring triple that made it 16-0. Lee opened the fifth with a triple and later added a double, finishing with four hits on the night — one home run away from hitting for the cycle.
Arizona starter Zac Gallen exited after surrendering the first three hits of the fifth inning. He was tagged for nine runs on 12 hits across four-plus innings of work.
Reliever Yilber Díaz came in and fared no better, allowing seven hits — including Buxton’s grand slam — and seven runs. He threw 44 pitches and managed just two outs before Philip Abner came on to record the final out of the inning.
