Twins starting pitcher Chris Paddack had a message for all lending an ear after Minnesota’s 12-5 win in Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon.

“Make sure y’all vote Buck for the All-Star game,” he told reporters.

Byron Buxton’s current play certainly deserves such a stage.

The Twins’ center fielder homered in each of the first two innings to help snap Minnesota’s six-game losing streak and bring the club back to .500 on the year (37-37). For the second straight game, Buxton opened the proceedings with a leadoff home run.

And for the second straight game, Minnesota’s starting pitcher relinquished the 1-0 advantage by surrendering a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. That spelled doom for the Twins on Wednesday, as the offense outside dried up in a 4-2, rain-shortened defeat.

But as Paddack returned to the dugout after giving up those runs on Thursday, Buxton came over and told him, “Keep us right there, and we’ll be just fine.”

He wasn’t lying.

Kody Clemens turned hard on a ball and kept it inside the right field foul pole to put Minnesota back up 3-2 in the second frame. Next up was Buxton. He delivered the same result, and suddenly it was 4-2 Twins.

There was no slowing down the Minnesota bats on this occasion. The Twins chased Reds starter Nick Martinez midway through the third frame, putting seven earned runs on his ledger before his exit.

Minnesota scored multiple runs in the second, third and fourth innings, and led 9-4 through three and a half frames.“Guys were seeing it well, a lot of crooked numbers there in the first four innings,” Paddack said. “So, definitely getting some run support early as a starter, it takes a little stress off your shoulders where you can go out there, compete, be aggressive in the zone.”

Paddack noted Thursday was perhaps the most fatigued he’d been all season, calling it a “grinding” start. He said Cincinnati features a low-sloped mound that makes it feel as though “we’re throwing on flat ground.” So, he didn’t have the same velocity and bite on his stuff.

But he and catcher Ryan Jeffers adjusted and devised a plan to be aggressive early in counts against the Reds’ patient hitters and pound the lower half of the zone. Paddack (3-6) threw scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth innings to earn the win.

“Walking off the mound with Rocco shaking my hand,” Paddack said, “it definitely was a positive.”

As was the entire day for a team that’s struggled so mightily of late. Minnesota had dropped 10 of its last 12 contests entering Thursday’s bout, effectively erasing its previous hot stretch of play.

Frustrations were seemingly let out with each swing in the matinee. The Twins tallied a whopping 17 hits. Everyone who stepped to the plate for Minnesota on Thursday recorded at least one. Carlos Correa went 3 for 5. Jeffers — who also homered — Clemens and Ty France also had multi-hit outings.

“We were relentless early in the game, and then we stayed on it and had some good at bats throughout the game,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters. “We continued to put ourselves in a good position to score a bunch of runs. Great day for the offense and, overall, just a lot of positives.”

It was Buxton leading the charge.

He tacked on a double to go with his two home runs as his torrid pace at the plate continues to pair beautifully with his heroics in the outfield.

“He’s been in a good, relaxed place. You might call it ‘the zone,’” Baldelli said. “Whatever you want to call it, he’s playing great. Seeing the ball good. Had another good day at the plate. Swinging at good pitches, really attacking and barreling them up. Just another incredible effort.”

Buxton has homered in each of his last three games. Over the last 10 days, his batting average has spiked from .258 to .280.

“He’s played a lot of games where he’s just taking over the game. He’s doing a lot of the heavy lifting, and he likes it. I think it fires him up. His teammates are fired up, too, watching it,” Baldelli said. “But he’s exuding a lot of confidence right now. It takes a lot for him to do that, because he’s kind of a reserved guy in some ways, but I think he’s loving the way he’s playing right now, and I’m loving the way he’s playing right now.”

Buxton is breathing life into a Twins’ team that was in major need of a jolt. He provided one. Now, the challenge is to keep the electricity pumping as Minnesota returns home for a seven-game homestand, which opens Friday against Milwaukee.

“We played some tight ballgames on the trip. I’m fine grabbing the win today, getting on the “Overall, some things that we want to do better, something that we did well. We’ve got some guys playing well right now,” Baldelli said. “We should just ride today’s momentum into tomorrow and get back to work.”