Three up, three down at the quarter point of the Twins’ season

In Saturday’s win against the Guardians at Progressive Field, the Twins collected just two hits — both from Buxton, who hit a leadoff home run to begin the game and a double in the 11th inning to bring in the winning run.

Buxton was last week’s American League Player of the Week. He leads the team with 13 home runs, all of which came within the span of 23 games, and five of which have come in May.

Twins left fielders

Both Austin Martin and Trevor Larnach are off to strong starts, so why pick just one? The two have been platooning in left field with Larnach starting against righties and Martin against lefties. Martin has also seen some time in center and right field.

The Twins have a combined -9 defensive runs saved, per Fielding Bible, which is 28th in the league. But the the team’s five DRS in left field — three for Larnach, two for Martin — is fourth in the majors at the position.

At the plate, Martin is hitting .337 and getting on base at a 46.6 percent clip, a number that would lead all hitters if he had enough at-bats to qualify — and he should be qualified soon. Larnach hasn’t flashed much power yet but had a 19 game on-base streak and his 114 OPS+ is fourth on the team.

“Platoon, no platoon, I show up every day and just crank out all the work that I have,” Larnach said. “I put my trust and faith in that and then just go out there and compete on the field and just try to be consistent with that. If it shows up, it shows up, and if not then I can lay my head at night knowing that I put in everything that I can. That’s really my thing.”

Three down

Royce Lewis

Royce Lewis is hitting just .170/.267/.307, numbers well below his career averages, and last week he acknowledged having thoughts about his job security as he tries to work his way out of a tough start.

Shelton recently gave Lewis consecutive days off to serve as a mental reset as the third baseman worked on swing adjustments during the Twins’ series against the Washington Nationals.

“The work has been good. I’m working really hard and just got to keep going,” Lewis said last week. “I don’t even know if I have 100 at-bats yet on the season. It feels very fresh. Shoot, you could have a horrible hundred at-bats and then 300 really good ones and no one’s talking about anything, but it gets amplified when you start off slow.”

Matt Wallner

Like Lewis, Matt Wallner got a two-day stretch off himself, a week earlier. Since then, there have been a few signs for encouragement.

But it’s been a particularly tough start for Wallner, who is slashing .172/.267/.302 and whose -1.1 bWAR (Wins Above Replacement per Baseball Reference) is worst on the team. He has just four home runs, has driven in 10 and is striking out in 37 percent of his plate appearances.

“I always know statistically I start slow; it’s just a matter of fact. But I’m trying to get ahead of it, trying to beat that,” Wallner said. “But it’s just part of it. Just trying to be the first one to the park, and if I’m struggling, I can live with it if I’m working. But I just want to do everything I can in my power to get back on track.”

Simeon Woods Richardson

Simeon Woods Richardson has made eight starts this season, and the Twins have won one of those games. He hasn’t made it lasted five innings in half of those games, and only once has he thrown more than five.

Woods Richardson’s earned-run average is 6.92, 30 earned runs in 39 innings pitched. His strikeout rate is way down, 19 total, an average of 4.9 over nine innings.

“It’s been tough, but it’s not the end of the world,” Woods Richardson said after his last start. “We could talk about it every game just for a sob story, but it’s not going to make anybody feel better. You get back on the horse and you keep doing it. You turn the season around and none of these things happen.”

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