The Minnesota Twins fell to 2-2 on the season after falling 3-2 to the Milwaukee Brewers in their home opener Tuesday at Miller Park, and Byron Buxton received a scare.
We can laugh about it now, but Buxton was almost driven over during a Brewers ritual. At Miller Park, sausage races take place before the bottom of the sixth inning. The Twins were behind 3-1 at the moment, and Buxton was set to exit the bench for his position in center field.
As he started to trot out, he nearly walked right into the end of the races. He froze before pivoting quickly back into the dugout. That’s right, a Brewers’ sausage nearly barreled over Byron Buxton. It would’ve been very Twins-like if there actually had been a collision. Buxton’s injury history with the Twins is well-chronicled.
“Just like a normal inning, I get ready to turn around and it was like I’m going to have to take a charge if I can’t get out the way,” Buxton said after the game. “Luckily, he wasn’t running as fast as I thought he was.”
His teammates were joking about it after, despite the loss.
“We said Buck almost got Bratwursted,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said.
The last thing the Twins need is a freak accident happening to their center fielder. Especially with Royce Lewis out at least a month after straining his right quad on Opening Day in Kansas City.
Buxton went 1-for-4 in the loss with a strikeout, and has four hits in 14 at-bats so far this season. The Twins managed just three hits on Tuesday.
Most importantly, he’s played in all four games and has been out in center field.
