The most important moment for the Minnesota Twins on Sunday might happen well before the first pitch.
That’s because All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton is scheduled to undergo testing on his injured left side before the Twins take on the Washington Nationals in Minneapolis.
The 31-year-old Buxton left Saturday’s game because of left-side soreness. Washington added insult to injury when it cruised to a 9-3 win over the Twins to even the three-game series.
Buxton might not be in the Twins’ lineup for the rubber match. Either way, Minnesota is eager for a series win after dropping its first two series after the All-Star break.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the series finale offers a chance for a fresh start.
“Not the game we intended to play,” Baldelli said. “(Friday’s) game was a brilliant game, and then we came in (Saturday) and played like this. I’d like to win the series (on Sunday) and get back to playing complete baseball.”
The lineup might be incomplete.
Buxton went 0-for-3 on Saturday and left the game after he experienced pain. The team hopes the injury isn’t serious, but history offers some cause for consternation because Buxton has dealt with a spate of injuries throughout his career.
This season, he is hitting .282 with 23 homers, 59 RBIs and 17 steals in 85 games.
“He was actually, what I would say, is relatively upbeat,” Baldelli said. “I talked to him during the game, I popped upstairs to check on him. …
“We’re just going to get him imaged (Sunday) morning just to see what we’re dealing with. He felt it more running than anything else. When you have some soreness in your side and you don’t feel it as much swinging and you don’t feel it as much — on the offensive end, you feel it running — that’s kind of a unique thing. I’m not going to speculate any more than that. We’re going to get him looked at (Sunday).”
Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin (7-5, 4.81 ERA) will take the mound against the team that he grew up supporting. Irvin was born in the nearby suburb of Bloomington, Minn., and starred at Jefferson High School before moving on to the Oklahoma Sooners.
Irvin is 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA in one career start against the Twins, a 3-2 Minnesota win on May 22, 2024. That was a home game for the Nationals, and this will be the first time he has pitched in Minnesota.
“It means everything,” Irvin said. “It’s important to put it all in perspective. This is what got me here: Growing up a Twins fan, falling in love with the Twins and just how much they meant to me in developing my passion for baseball.
“The people around me that I grew up playing with, I get to see a lot of my buddies from high school. I get to be around my parents and my family, just everybody who supported me along the way. It’s all come full circle, and (it’s) super, super special.”
The Twins have not announced a starter and plan to go with a bullpen game on Sunday. One pitcher who figures to receive a good amount of work is rookie right-hander Travis Adams, who is 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in three relief appearances.
Adams has allowed 12 hits, walked one and struck out six over nine innings. He never has faced the Nationals.