Times wires
Sunday, May 15, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS — Even by Jose Bautista's recent standards, this is a remarkable stretch of hitting.
Since the beginning of the 2010 season, the Blue Jays outfielder has led the majors in home runs.
But a performance that included three home runs in Sunday's 11-3 victory over the Twins and a total of five during a series sweep left even Bautista a bit dumbfounded.
"It's ridiculous, it feels like a dream right now," said Bautista, who had 54 homers last season. "Sometimes I can't really believe it myself, but I keep seeing the good pitches."
Bautista is hitting .415 with 13 homers and 21 RBIs over the past 19 games. His 16 home runs this season are two fewer than the entire Twins team, and his five over the weekend is one shy of the six that Minnesota has at Target Field this season.
In the year-plus that Target Field has been open, Bautista has seven homers in seven games there.
"There's no secret (at Target Field), they're just throwing me a lot of strikes right now," Bautista said.