KANSAS CITY -- Byron Buxton was able to smile following the Twins’ 5-1 win against the Royals, and that’s a very good sign.
Buxton was removed due to a left knee contusion, but was optimistic that he will not miss much, if any, additional time. That meant he was able to enjoy both a team win and a couple of personal milestones. He reached 30 home runs for the first time in his career and became the second Twins player ever to hit 30 homers and steal 20 bases in the same season, joining franchise legend Kirby Puckett.
“I’ll be all right,” Buxton said. “It’s more of a precautionary thing.”
In the top of the fifth, Buxton was hit on the knee by a pitch from Kansas City starter Michael Lorenzen. He stayed on the ground for a while as he was examined by Twins head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta and manager Rocco Baldelli.
Buxton remained in the game to run the bases, and played defense in the bottom of the fifth. But when the Twins took the field for the bottom of the sixth, he was removed. James Outman took his place in center field.
“We got two quick outs and Nick [Loftin] hit that double down the line,” Buxton said. “And I got ready to take off and I started cramping. And I knew then. I was like, all right, that’s that contusion telling my body, don’t do nothing crazy. Try to fight through that, and I might pull a muscle.”
It was not enough to dampen Buxton’s enthusiasm for joining a club consisting of him, Puckett, and no one else.
Buxton led off the game with his 30th home run, reaching that milestone for the first time in his career. His last nine hits have all been for extra bases, and it was his eighth leadoff homer of the year. But it was joining Puckett that got the attention of Buxton, who is not one to focus on individual accomplishments.
“I didn’t know that,” Buxton said when told of the exclusive club. “That’s pretty crazy. I don’t even know what to say to that. Obviously Kirby was a big icon here, so to be in a club like that with him is … I’ll think on that. It's special. I didn’t know that.”
Topa cautiously optimistic
Buxton wasn’t the only Twin to suffer a left knee issue on Sunday. Justin Topa, who has become one of the team’s primary high-leverage relievers since the Trade Deadline, felt what he called a “zinger” in his left knee in the ninth inning.
Topa felt pain on his last pitch of the game, which came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He said it was reminiscent of, but less severe than, the knee issue he dealt with in 2024.
“I planted and I tried to extend and a zinger rolled up,” Topa said. “I talked with [manager Rocco Baldelli and athletic trainer Masa Abe] and we just decided to get a look at it. Obviously, with the history last year and everything that was going on last year, let's just get it looked at.
“I had the doctor look at it and he said that structurally, everything looks good. He just kind of pressed around almost trying to make it feel that way again and it didn't, which is good.”