Buxton exits after dazzling catch in Twins' win heavy on defense

MINNEAPOLIS – Defense has been a problem of late for the Twins, but on Friday night, they sparkled in the field and got enough timely hitting to beat the Royals, 5-3, at Target Field.

However, in the process they once again lost center fielder Byron Buxton due to injury. He hurt himself in the third inning after crashing into the outfield wall in center field while making a running catch to retire Carter Jensen.

The Twins announced later in the game that Buxton exited due to a right shoulder contusion. It’s the same shoulder he injured on May 23 while sliding into second base in Boston.

On the play, Jensen laced a ball to deep center field. Buxton raced back and made a backhanded catch before running face-first into the padded wall.

The Twins’ training staff went out to check on Buxton, who convinced them he was healthy enough to stay in the game. He even made a running catch on a Vinnie Pasquantino fly ball to end the inning.

However, when his spot in the batting order came up second in the bottom of the third inning, Tristan Gray entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Buxton.

“When he came in and he said he hit that shoulder, the same shoulder that he had the issue with [in May], he wanted to hit and I was like, 'Nah, there’s no chance if you’re feeling it in the same spot,'” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s way too important to us to take an at-bat to [test the shoulder], so I just took it out of his hands and said no.”

The Twins had committed errors in eight straight games coming into Friday, and a few ugly misplays directly contributed to their 8-6 loss in Thursday’s series opener. But Buxton set the tone on Friday with two huge catches in the first three innings. In the second, the 2017 Gold Glove-winning center fielder sprinted into short right-center to grab a fly ball off the bat of Michael Massey.

Buxton covered 88 feet to get to the ball and reached a top speed of 30.6 ft/sec (30 ft/sec is considered elite speed). While he got a negative jump on the ball, his speed allowed him to make up for that and cover the ground needed to reach the flyout.

The other defensive star of the night was right fielder Austin Martin, who threw out two runners at home plate – an especially important feat after Minnesota won by two runs. In the fourth inning, with the Twins trailing 2-1, Jac Caglianone tried to score from second on a Massey base hit. Martin’s throw was actually a few feet up the first-base line, but catcher Alex Jackson ranged to his right to catch it, then dived back to his left to put the tag on Caglianone.

Then, with the Twins leading 5-2 in the seventh, Martin gunned down the speedy Isaac Collins as he tried to score on Kyle Isbel’s two-out single.

“Accuracy has always been something that's more important for me, seeing as though I don't really have an arm like Matt Wallner,” said Martin, a converted shortstop who has played all three outfield positions in his Major League career. “I just try to use what I can, and use it to the best of my ability.”

Despite his relative inexperience in the outfield, Martin was confident he could make both throws.

“I always want to say yeah, I feel like I have a shot,” he said. “My thing is I just have to get to the ball as quick as possible and get it out of my glove and out of my hand as quick as possible.”

It wouldn’t be fair to leave out Brooks Lee’s contributions to the game. Not only did his leadoff homer tie the game in the sixth inning, but he made a few flashy plays at third base, including a diving stab and a long throw to first to retire Nick Loftin in the seventh.

“A couple really good plays by Brooks that I think, if you’re a casual baseball fan, go unnoticed, but he did a really good job,” Shelton said. “Overall, we played well defensively.”