Sano hits Twin homers to top Rays

ST. PETERSBURG — Twins third baseman Miguel Sano stated his case for staying with the big league club on Sunday afternoon, barreling two long homers in a 6-3 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field.

With Trevor Plouffe set to return Monday, Sano was considered a candidate to be sent down, but Minnesota announced after the game that it will option Byron Buxton to Triple-A Rochester.

Sano’s first shot was a three-run homer in the third inning to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead. Then he hit another homer to a nearly identical spot in the left-field seats for some ninth-inning insurance.

Both Nick Franklin and Evan Longoria homered for the Rays, but Tampa Bay found little offense elsewhere against Twins starter Kyle Gibson and the Minnesota bullpen. Gibson needed 107 pitches to get through five innings, but he allowed just two runs, and the ‘pen was nearly spotless after him.

Tampa Bay starter Matt Andriese was pulled after 76 pitches and 4 2/3 innings. He was limited, because he’s still building up his pitch count after returning to the rotation with the trade of Matt Moore to the Giants. Andriese’s only major blemish was Sano’s first home run, but it was enough.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Sano …

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