Minnesota’s Byron Buxton is coming off a two-homer performance that gave him 15 home runs for the season.
Twins manager Derek Shelton knows exactly what to do next: Leave him alone.
The Twins hope Buxton can stay hot entering the rubber match of their three-game series against the Miami Marlins on Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Buxton hit a pair of solo home runs in Wednesday night’s 9-5 loss to the Marlins. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Twins, and Shelton answered quickly when asked how he should address Buxton’s recent power surge.
“Just don’t talk to him and leave him alone,” Shelton said with a smile. “He’s in it right now. He’s having good swings. He’s an elite player, and I think we’re seeing that.”
Meanwhile, Miami is adjusting its plans because of an unexpected injury.
Braxton Garrett is set to make his season debut on the mound Thursday as a replacement for fellow left-hander Robby Snelling, who reported elbow pain after a recent bullpen session.
The 22-year-old Snelling made his big-league debut on Friday and allowed three runs on five hits in five innings in a 3-2 loss to the Washington Nationals. He walked four and struck out two and was on track to make his second start Thursday against Minnesota.
Those plans were derailed.
“Robby reported some discomfort yesterday following his bullpen session,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said Wednesday. “We went and got that imaged, looked at, and (it) came back: He’s got a left elbow UCL sprain.
“There will be some further evaluations and things to occur. We don’t have anything more than that now, what the time frame is right now. But that’s what we’ve got now. So Robby will go on the IL (on Wednesday) and (Pete) Fairbanks will take his place.”
Miami activated Garrett to take Snelling’s place in the rotation. Garrett is 16-19 with a 4.03 ERA in 65 career games (63 starts), all of which have come with Miami.
McCullough said he has full confidence in Garrett, who has yet to face the Twins in his career.
“I think with Brax, he came into camp in a place where he was competing for one of our rotation spots and threw the ball well in spring,” McCullough said. “It came down to at that point, we had a number of guys who also had thrown the ball well. Brax went down to Jacksonville, total pro, just kept his head down, continued to throw and get built up after a lengthy absence of his own.
“He was throwing the ball well in Jacksonville, and he certainly is no stranger to performing at the major league level. So, while disappointing for Robby, Brax has certainly pitched well in the past. He has earned the chance to come back up here and be part of our rotation.”
The Twins will counter on Thursday with right-hander Zebby Matthews, who is set to make his season debut.
Matthews went 5-6 with a 5.56 ERA in 16 appearances (all starts) for the Twins last season. He has yet to face the Marlins.
–Field Level Media
