Twins' win streak reaches 11, but Buxton, Correa injured in scary collision

BALTIMORE -- Though the Twins extended their winning streak to 11 games on Thursday afternoon -- topping the O’s, 4-0, in the finale to sweep the season series -- it came at a cost.

Both shortstop Carlos Correa and center fielder Byron Buxton, two mainstays of Minnesota’s lineup, exited and were then placed in concussion protocol after they collided on a flyout in shallow center field in the bottom of the third inning.

Correa exited after a lengthy injury delay, while Buxton finished the inning in center field before being replaced in the order in the top of the fourth. Both departures initiated massive defensive alignment shuffles -- the end result being five Twins who played at least two positions in the game, including Kody Clemens, who played three (first base, second base and right field).

“I told the guys today that we went to battle,” said starter Chris Paddack, who threw seven scoreless innings and gave up just three hits and one walk, with three strikeouts.

“You got that scary play that happened with Buck and Los -- hate seeing that. Hope that they can get right over the next couple days as they're in the concussion protocol. But you got Clemens played three or four positions today. You got Ty [France] that's coming into the game. You got Jonah [Bride] that's coming into the game. So we went to battle today, and there were a lot of people that stepped up.”

The collision occurred when Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins hit a fly ball toward center. Correa ranged backward while Buxton ran in to make the play. Buxton made the catch, but neither player was able to change direction fast enough to avoid a collision, with Buxton’s front colliding with Correa’s back.

“It’s one of those fly balls that's kind of right in the middle of both of them,” acting manager Jayce Tingler said. “And both of them going at it hard, and, you know, pretty good crowd today, with a bunch of people screaming, tough to communicate, and they obviously collided and banged heads.”

Both Correa and Buxton remained on the ground a while, visibly shaken and out of sorts, as the training staff sprinted onto the field. The pair has dealt with their fair share of injuries over the course of their careers, so the club tends to be extra careful with each vet. It was just Sunday when Correa was scratched from the lineup to give him a day to rest. He ended up having three days off, with Monday’s off-day and Tuesday’s rainout.

Correa and Buxton both spent two stints on the IL last year, something the club hopes to avoid repeating. If the pair clears concussion protocol, they would be available to start on Friday in the first game of the Twins’ Rivalry Weekend matchup with the Brewers.

But concussions -- and brain injuries of any sort – are not to be taken lightly. Just two years ago , MLB saw then-Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome three months after a collision. The undiagnosed concussion and resulting impairment left him struggling at the plate and the field for months before receiving the diagnosis.

“You're concerned anytime players kind of bang heads or have a head collision,” Tingler said. “I think the whole thing took six, seven minutes. And it's a scary situation. ... Buck obviously stayed in for the half-inning, and Carlos walked off on his own.”

There were, of course, bright spots -- including Paddack’s start to save the bullpen, which delivered 9 1/3 scoreless frames in Wednesday’s doubleheader. And, mere moments before the collision, Buxton hit a home run to go back-to-back with DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in the top of the frame, putting the Twins ahead, 3-0. It was Buxton’s 143rd career homer, tying him with Hall of Famer Joe Mauer for the 15th-most all-time in Twins history.

Plus, there’s that 11-game winning streak, which has Minnesota hitting the road to Milwaukee in good spirits, albeit bruised up.

“We just regrouped as a team,” said Royce Lewis. “Rocco [Baldelli] kind of came in with Jayce and started saying, 'Hey, just keep playing. You know, they’d do the same thing if you guys got hurt. So keep playing.' And that's what we did. We just kept playing.

“I feel like this whole team as a whole is literally winning the game. That's not just one guy. You know, it might be one guy this day, but the next day, it's another guy and coming through the clutch. And it's been awesome to see. You know, whether it's Paddack having an amazing start, [or] the bullpen going nine shutout innings. It seems like -- it's unbelievable. So just got to keep rolling like that.”