Byron Buxton, Joe Ryan lead Twins to 6-0 victory over Red Sox

The Buck Truck is back in gear.

Idled during an eight-game hitless streak, Byron Buxton said he felt like he couldn’t “touch a ball” in his role as the Twins’ designated hitter. But the 2022 all-star has found his swing over the past three games.

“You get that in your head,” he said late Wednesday night, “and you’re over with.”

Not even close.

Buxton went 2 for 4 with two home runs that traveled a combined 931 feet as the Twins beat the Red Sox, 6-0, in front of an announced 28,553 on a hot, sticky Thursday afternoon at Target Field.

Since ending an 0-for-24 skid during a 10-4 loss to Boston on Tuesday, Buxton is 5 for 11 with three home runs, a double, four runs scored and three RBIs and played a large part in helping the Twins right a listing ship with two straight wins to salvage a four-game split with visiting Boston.

They begin a three-stop, nine-game road trip with a 6:10 p.m. first pitch against the Tigers on Friday in Detroit.

Solo home runs by Carlos Correa and Buxton in the first inning off Justin Garza (0-2) gave the Twins a quick 2-0 lead, which would have been enough for starter Joe Ryan (8-4), who cruised in his first career complete game. He scattered three hits and struck out nine.

It was the Twins’ first complete game since Jose Berrios on June 7, 2018, and the team’s first complete game shutout since Berrios shut out the Orioles in the season opener at Baltimore.

Buxton’s home run traveled an estimated 466 feet, hooking around the left field foul pole to glace off the handrail in the third deck. His solo home run in the third inning landed in the second deck behind the bullpens in left-center field, traveling an estimated 465 feet.

According to ESPN & Info, it marked the first time a major league had hit two home runs of 460 feet or more in a single game since Mike Napoli last did it with the Red Sox in a 10-1 victory over Toronto on May 1, 2013.

Boston left-hander relieved Garza with none out in the second and 6⅔ innings in his major league debut. He was charged with three earned runs on six hits and three walks. He fanned two.

Michael A. Taylor drove in a pair of runs with a two-run double in a three-run third inning, and Royce Lewis scored Kyle Farmer from third with a two-out single into no-man’s land in shallow left-center in the fifth inning.