FORT MYERS, Fla. — If Byron Buxton had his way, Opening Day wouldn’t be in three weeks. It would be much, much sooner.

The Twins center fielder certainly looked Opening Day-ready on Saturday. Buxton electrified the crowd with a home run and a pair of triples, driving in four runs in Minnesota’s 10-7 win over the Yankees at Hammond Stadium. It’s a feat that no Twins player has accomplished in a regular-season game.

“You have a game like this, this is when (you’re), ‘All right, I wish the season started tomorrow,’” Buxton said. “Especially after I guess the way I was feeling before the off day. To come back out and have the game I did, it felt good.”

Buxton said he swung over a few sliders and a few changeups and referenced a high fastball that he struck out on against Boston reliever Cam Booser on Wednesday. It was a pitch, he said, he had gotten to two days before that.

“Just those inconsistencies are what I’ve been working on to try to not miss that pitch as much,” Buxton said.

He certainly didn’t miss anything on Saturday.

He took a ball out to left-center field in the first inning for his first home run of the spring, cleared the bases with a triple in the second and added another triple two innings later.

And oh yeah, all this came against Nestor Cortes, a former All-Star.

“He was high-flying. He was swinging the bat good. Running the bases like we know he does,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “ … I think he lit up today. He was moving like himself. He’s been moving like himself, but I think today he felt like himself.”

Baldelli said Buxton inquired about a fourth at-bat, but the Twins pulled him in the fifth inning, promising him plenty of at-bats on Sunday against the Nationals. Saturday was the first game of a back-to-back for Buxton. It will be the first time the center fielder has played on consecutive days this spring.

“It’s fun to see him with so much joy, so happy, performing great, playing center field,” teammate Carlos Correa said. “It’s where he belongs.”

Jeffers away from team

Catcher Ryan Jeffers has stepped away from the team for the time being after he and his wife, Lexi, said goodbye to their second child prematurely.

At their 20-week anatomy scan, the couple learned that their son’s heart was no longer beating. The couple shared the news on Instagram, accompanied by a black and white photo of them holding their baby boy, whom they named Mason Michael.

“All our hearts are obviously with Ryan and Lexi right now,” Baldelli said. “The most difficult of situations that any human, any person can even imagine.”

Briefly

Edouard Julien, who was hit on the wrist with a pitch in Friday’s game, seems to have avoided serious injury, and Baldelli said he is scheduled to play on Monday against Atlanta. … The Twins will host the Washington Nationals on Sunday as part of their annual Minnesota Day celebration at Hammond Stadium. … Pablo López is set to start that game with Jhoan Duran also slated to pitch.

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