Byron Buxton blasted a leadoff home run but a pair of bombs from Jordan Luplow and a high-wire act from Madison Bumgarner helped the Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 on Friday night.
The Twins got off to a great start when Buxton sent Bumgarner’s second pitch of the game 446 feet for his 19th home run of the season, but outside of Jose Miranda’s RBI single in the third inning, the Twins couldn’t break the game open.
That left the door open for Luplow, who smashed a two-run homer in the first inning and a solo home run in the third to give Arizona a 3-2 lead.
Luplow’s homers were the beginning of a rough night for Devin Smeltzer, who allowed seven runs (six earned) through 4.1 innings and helped two runs score on a throwing error.
Although Buxton, Miranda, Gary Sanchez and Luis Arraez enjoyed multi-hit games at the plate, the Twins were never able to chip into the lead and dropped the opener of a three-game series.
The Twins will try and even things up on Saturday night when Dylan Bundy takes the mound against Luke Weaver.
