Buxton extends Minnesota's home run streak with 3-run shot as Twins top Mariners 5-1

SEATTLE (AP) — Byron Buxton extended Minnesota’s home run streak to 18 straight games with a three-run shot in the sixth inning, Pablo López allowed one run over six innings, and the Twins beat the Seattle Mariners 5-1 on Saturday night.

Minnesota improved to 5-3 on its current nine-game road trip and got the 5,000th win in franchise history since the Twins moved from Washington prior to the 1961 season.

Buxton homered for the second time in three games, this time breaking the game open with a shot off Seattle reliever Trent Thornton with two outs in the sixth inning. Thornton was on the verge of escaping trouble after the first two batters of the inning reached, but he left a 2-2 fastball in the middle of the plate and Buxton didn’t miss for his eighth homer of the season.

“He's finding ways to just have good at-bats, put himself in good counts. But the swing, I've said a couple of times before, looks very synched up. It looks very tight and it's very impactful. He's finding the barrel and the ball just really takes off when he's putting good swings on the ball,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Minnesota’s 18-game streak of long balls is tied for the franchise record set last season between April 18 and May 6, 2023. It’s the second-longest streak in the majors this season behind Baltimore’s 22-game stretch earlier this month, and the Twins have hit 29 homers during the span.

Buxton also had a two-out RBI double in the fourth inning off Seattle starter Bryce Miller that barely eluded the diving attempt of Luke Raley in left field. The four RBIs were a season high for Buxton and the most since July 21, 2023, against the White Sox.

Buxton is hitting .478 with four homers and four doubles on the current road trip.

“Once you figure out what you don’t have to search for the whole time going into the cage, not spending 40 minutes on that one little piece you’re trying to figure out it kind of simplifies the game a little bit more," Buxton said. "When I say, ‘see ball, hit ball,’ it’s more just about simplifying it to just go out there and have a quality at-bat.”

Coming off a 14-strikeout performance in his last start, López (8-6) scattered four hits and struck out nine. He’s allowed six hits and one earned run in his last 14 innings, and retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced.

Seattle’s only run off López came via Mitch Haniger’s solo homer in the third inning. It was Haniger’s seventh homer of the season but his first since May 14.

Miller (6-7) was lifted after five innings and only allowing two runs. But he had to work to get through those five innings throwing 87 pitches and with the heart of the Twins order coming up in the sixth.

Miller allowed five hits and struck out six.

“He did have to throw a lot of offspeed pitches tonight, probably the most he's thrown all year, but he was able to work through it,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “It wasn't easy. ... He had to grind through it.”

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Twins: RHP Joe Ryan (5-5, 3.31) has pitched at least six innings in his last four starts. He allowed four runs over six innings in his last outing against Arizona.

Mariners: RHP Luis Castillo (6-9, 3.79) will throw on normal rest rather than giving him two extra days off and having him start Tuesday’s series opener against Baltimore. Castillo has lost three of his last four starts.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Minnesota Twins' Carlos Santana (30) is called safe at second for a double in front of the tag from Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford, right, during the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo López throws against the Seattle Mariners during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo López points after Seattle Mariners' Ty France grounded into a double play during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners' Mitch Haniger braces for a bag of seeds thrown at him by a teammate as he holds a trident to celebrate hitting a solo home run against the Minnesota Twins during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller walks to the dugout after facing the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton flips his bat after hitting a three-run home run against the Seattle Mariners during the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton hits a three-run home run to score Carlos Correa and Jose Miranda against the Seattle Mariners during the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton (25) greets teammates Jose Miranda, left, and Carlos Correa, center, who scored on his three-run home run against the Seattle Mariners during the sixth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

DALLAS (AP) — Klay Thompson is moving on from the Golden State Warriors, with the four-time league champion agreeing to join the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks and change franchises for the first time in his 13-year NBA career, two people with knowledge of the decision said Monday.

ESPN and The Athletic first reported the deal which, as currently constructed, will be executed as the sign-and-trade of a three-year, $50 million contract involving the Warriors, Mavericks and Charlotte Hornets, said the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been publicly announced. One of the people who spoke to the AP said final trade terms were still being worked out.

Thompson is sixth on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made list with 2,481, behind Reggie Miller (2,560), Damian Lillard (2,607), James Harden (2,940), Ray Allen (2,973) and Thompson’s now-former “Splash Brother” with the Warriors, Stephen Curry, and his 3,747 career makes from beyond the arc.

There were indications last season that Thompson and the Warriors might be headed toward a breakup.

Thompson came off the bench 14 times — not much in the grand scheme of things considering he played 77 games, but those were his first appearances as a reserve since his rookie season of 2011-12. He shot 38.7% from 3-point range, the second-worst of his career. He averaged 17.9 points, the third-lowest of his career. He wasn’t always in the finishing lineup and the season — and his Warriors career — ended with a 0-for-10 shooting performance against Sacramento in a play-in tournament loss.

Thompson — a five-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection who missed two entire seasons with injuries — took a long look around the court after that game, soaking in the scene just in case it would be his final time playing with the Warriors. Turns out, it was. And now he'll join a Dallas team that just went to the NBA Finals as a shooter brought in to help Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

They were all undervalued on some level when they entered the NBA. None was a lottery pick, some weren’t even first-round picks and they didn’t have the label of can’t-miss prospects.

That was then. Monday was a very different story for Tyrese Maxey, Derrick White, Isaiah Hartenstein, Tobias Harris, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins — who are about to sign deals worth a combined $565 million.

All were confirmed to the AP by people with knowledge of the negotiations for the players involved.

Maxey, an All-Star this past season, agreed in principle to a five-year, $204 million extension that keeps him with the Philadelphia 76ers and set to play alongside Joel Embiid and soon-to-be-signed Paul George.

The 76ers, like the rest of the league, are chasing the Boston Celtics, who made a big move by agreeing with guard Derrick White on a four-year extension worth around $125 million. White averaged 15.2 points and 5.2 assists for the NBA champions this past season.

Hartenstein, a center coming off a breakout year, is leaving New York for Oklahoma City on an $87 million, three-year deal that includes an option. The Thunder — the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference this past season — also finalized extensions with Joe ($48 million) and Wiggins ($47 million).

And Harris is going to Detroit on a two-year deal worth $52 million, a move first reported by ESPN and one that will give the young Pistons an experienced veteran in the room as they continue their rebuild under newly hired coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

Reynolds reported from Miami.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

FILE - Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) scores past San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in San Antonio, Monday, March 11, 2024. Klay Thompson is moving on from the Golden State Warriors, with the four-time league champion agreeing to join the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks and change franchises for the first time in his 13-year NBA career, two people with knowledge of the decision said Monday, July 1, 2024.(AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

FILE - Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson gestures after making a 3-point basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Los Angeles. Klay Thompson is moving on from the Golden State Warriors, with the four-time league champion agreeing to join the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks and change franchises for the first time in his 13-year NBA career, two people with knowledge of the decision said Monday, July 1, 2024.(AP Photo/Ryan Sun)