'It ain't broken, so I'm good': Buxton in good spirits after HBP, Twins' hard-fought win
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MINNEAPOLIS -- Byron Buxton certainly felt some frustration as a result of being hit by a pitch in the Twins’ home opener against the Rays on Friday, but it was drowned out by his delight at the team’s hard-fought 10-4 win.
Buxton was removed immediately after being hit by a fastball from righty Kevin Kelly in the seventh inning. The Twins said he has a right forearm contusion, but the X-rays are negative.
“It’s an arm,” Buxton said. “It ain’t broken, so I’m good.”
Leading off the seventh, Buxton was hit on his right arm by a 91.6 mile per hour fastball. The ball appeared to catch him near his elbow. It was in a similar location to another hit by pitch that he suffered in the World Baseball Classic.
“Little bit [frustrating]," he said. “It’s also cold. It is what it is. it’s baseball. No fault to him. It’s part of the game.”
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The veteran slugger headed straight for the dugout and was replaced by James Outman, who immediately stole second base and went on to score the go-ahead run.
“First pitch, he steals a base, creates a little bit of energy in the situation, and we end up having a big inning,” said manager Derek Shelton.
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It was a cold day at Target Field, with a first-pitch temperature of 38 degrees and feels-like temperature around 30, and by the end of the game, a steady rain had begun falling. But the Twins overcame the conditions, a pregame delay of nearly an hour due to a power outage and Buxton’s injury to notch a hard-fought win.
“It felt good, you know what I’m saying?” Buxton said. “Especially to be able to come back home, first home game of the year. To be able to battle, it was fun. Obviously it didn’t start out the way we wanted it to, so big shoutout to the fans that stuck around to support us throughout this Opening Day.”