I feel bad for Byron Buxton. I don’t think that I necessarily speak for all of Twins fandom when I say that I just kind of feel bad for the guy, but neither do I think I’m alone in this. And while there are a lot of different emotions, as a fan, that are pretty normal when you’re watching a player on your team struggle - empathy, anger, disappointment, “disappointment” that is actually anger, et cetera - I think there are very few Twins fans that aren’t, ultimately, rooting for the guy. Everybody would rather him have an OPS of 1.200 and be hitting 40 home runs this year.

Anyway, the Twins lost 5-0 to the Mariners on Thursday, ending a two-game winning streak that also coincided with Buxton being out of the lineup. Batting fifth, the Twins DH was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He’s now 0-for-21 since the All-Star break, with 12 strikeouts. His batting average has dropped to .193. His OPS in July - his OPS! - is .363.

If this isn’t rock bottom, then he can definitely see rock bottom from here.

He’s not exactly alone - Christian Vázquez has a .563 OPS for the entire season, which is far worse than Buxton - but he’s definitely now the most high-profile example of why the Twins offense has been described the entire year as “struggling.”

Minnesota has three with the White Sox now, at home, followed by three more with the Mariners. Now would be a good time for the offense to pick it up, including Buxton, but at this point, we have to wonder - can Minnesota afford to wait for Buxton to work out his problems?

If the Lynx do make the playoffs this year, they should start their celebrations by writing thank-you notes to the Los Angeles Sparks. Minnesota beat L.A. for the fourth time in four tries, winning 73-70 in a frustrating game at Target Center. The Lynx led by 17 points at halftime, blew the entire lead in the third quarter, and had to come back to win in the fourth.

Dorka Juhász was the first-half standout for Minnesota; the rookie had 14 of her 16 points in the first half, and six of her 10 rebounds. Napheesa Collier, though, took over down the stretch, scoring the last four buckets that the Lynx made, as they turned a 68-61 deficit into a 73-68 lead. Collier finished with 22 points.

Now things get serious for Minnesota’s schedule. Their next six games include league-leading Las Vegas, two against second-place New York, and two against third-place Connecticut, as well as a game against Washington. Winning one could actually count as an accomplishment; it would not be totally shocking to see the Lynx at 10-18 in two weeks.

The way the league is shaping up, though - 8-13 Chicago is currently in the last playoff spot - even a six-game losing streak might not be enough to push Minnesota into the bottom four.

Another day, another win for the St. Paul Saints, who beat Omaha 6-5 and remain a half-game back at the top of the second-half International League standings.

Trevor Larnach homered for the Saints, snapping an 0-for-22 streak of his own, and Kyle Garlick hit two doubles and drove in three runs. In other “hey, I remember that guy” news, Jorge Polanco was 0-for-3, and Gilberto Celestino was 0-for-5, so it’s not all roses. Austin Martin also got two hits and his batting average went up all the way to .174, which tells you about how things have been for him so far.

Third-baseman pitcher Andrew Bechtold also went deep for St. Paul. He hasn’t pitched since July 9, when he gave up three runs and got one out in a relief appearance, so I guess it’s possible that his personal Shohei Experiment is over.

TODAY’S SLATE

TWINS vs Chicago White Sox, 7:10pm
SAINTS at Omaha, 7:05pm

ON DECK

LYNX vs Las Vegas, Saturday
LOONS vs. Puebla, Sunday