MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton hit for the cycle on his bobblehead day, completing it with a solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Minnesota Twins routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-4 on Saturday.
Buxton hit a single in the first inning, a triple in the second and a double in the third. He singled again in the fifth before stepping to the plate in the seventh for one more chance at the first cycle ever at Target Field, which opened in 2010.
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Minnesota Twins' Kody Clemens (18) runs the bases after hitting a 3-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins' Ryan Jeffers (27) and Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Joey Bart (14) collide after Jeffers was tagged out at home during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 12, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mike Burrows (53) walks back to the dugout during a pitching change in the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton (25) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run for the cycle during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Facing Pirates reliever Andrew Heaney, Buxton hit a solo homer 427 feet to center field to complete the cycle — and send Target Field into a frenzy. His timing was perfect, too: Saturday's giveaway at the stadium was a Buxton bobblehead of his “Buck Truck” home run celebration.
Buxton's homer came two days before the Home Run Derby, in which he'll participate in his home state of Georgia at Truist Park in Atlanta.
Kody Clemens hit a three-run homer in the Twins' six-run second inning. Matt Wallner and Willi Castro each hit solo homers, with Castro's coming right after Buxton's momentous blast.
Cole Sands threw two hitless innings as Minnesota's opening pitcher. Reliever Travis Adams (1-0) gave up two hits and two runs — one unearned — in four innings to pick up his first career win in his second major league appearance.
Pirates starter Mike Burrows (1-3) recorded just four outs before he was lifted in his shortest start of the year.
Jack Suwinski homered for the Pirates, who lost their eighth straight game.
Buxton's cycle was the highlight of the game, but it was Clemens' blast that opened the floodgates in the Twins' six-run second inning.
Buxton became the 12th player in Twins history to hit for the cycle.
RHP Mitch Keller (3-10, 3.58 ERA) starts Pittsburgh's final game before the All-Star break. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.08) takes the mound Sunday for the Twins.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Minnesota Twins' Kody Clemens (18) runs the bases after hitting a 3-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins' Ryan Jeffers (27) and Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Joey Bart (14) collide after Jeffers was tagged out at home during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 12, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mike Burrows (53) walks back to the dugout during a pitching change in the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton (25) runs the bases after hitting a solo home run for the cycle during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand (AP) — A new construction accident on a road near Thailand's capital, Bangkok, was reported on Thursday, just 24 hours after a construction crane fell on a moving passenger train in the country's northeast, killing at least 32 people.
There was no immediate official confirmation of deaths in Thursday’s accident, but the Facebook page of Fire & Rescue Thailand, which covers the activities of volunteer firefighters and rescue workers, said at least one person was killed.
The accident occurred at the site of an elevated road construction project.
Meanwhile, the search for survivors from Wednesday’s train accident in Nakhon Ratchasima province has ended, said provincial governor Anuphong Suksomnit. Officials said three passengers listed as missing were presumed to have gotten off the train earlier, but that was still being investigated.
Officials believed there had been 171 people aboard the train’s three carriages, which were being removed from the scene on Thursday.
The latest accident on the outskirts of Bangkok saw a construction crane collapse on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province at around 9 a.m., according to the government's Public Relations Department, which added that two vehicles were trapped in the wreckage, which included massive metal girders.
Rescue operations were underway, the statement added.
The construction project, an extension of the Rama 2 Road expressway — a major artery leading from Bangkok — has become notorious in recent years for construction accidents, some of them fatal.
At the train accident scene in Nakhon Ratchasima, work to remove the wreckage continued Thursday, after search and rescue operations concluded Wednesday night. The accident saw a falling crane derail and crush parts of the train under it.
The authorities said the crane that fell was a launching gantry crane, a mobile piece of equipment often used in building elevated roadways.
Narongsak Promta, the provincial police chief of Nakhon Ratchasima, told reporters at the site that police are working to verify the status of all passengers to determine the status of the three people listed as missing.
He said police are still collecting evidence and interviewing relevant parties and have not yet pressed charges against any party.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry reported that one South Korean national, a man in his late 30s, was among the dead. The ministry is providing consular services to the bereaved family.
The two-stage high-speed rail project on which the accident occurred has a total investment cost of more than 520 billion baht ($16.8 billion) and is associated with an ambitious plan to connect China with Southeast Asia under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
In August 2024, a railway tunnel on the planned route, also in Nakhon Ratchasima, collapsed, killing three workers.
Anan Phonimdaeng, acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said the project’s contractor is Italian-Thai Development, with a Chinese company responsible for design and construction supervision.
A statement posted on the website of the company, also known as Italthai, expressed condolences to the victims and said the company would take responsibility for paying compensation to the families of the dead and hospitalization expenses for the injured.
The rail accident sparked outrage because Italthai was also the co-lead contractor for the State Audit Building in Bangkok that collapsed during construction in March last year during a major earthquake.
About 100 people were killed in the collapse, which was the only major structure in Thailand to suffer such serious damage. Dozens of executives were indicted in connection with the disaster but none have yet been tried.
The involvement of Chinese companies in both projects has also drawn attention, as has Italthai and Chinese companies’ involvement in the construction of several expressway extensions in and around Bangkok where several accidents, some fatal, have occurred.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday the government was aware of the reports about the rail accident and had expressed condolences.
It was not immediately clear which companies were involved in Thursday's road construction accident.
Associated Press writers Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.
Forensic workers inspect the site of a train accident, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A cuddly toy lies on the ground at the site of a train accident, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)
A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)
A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)
