Byron Buxton missing Detroit games after getting injection in knee

DETROIT – On Tuesday, Byron Buxton blasted a shoulder-level fastball from 11-0 Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin 425 feet into the left-field stands at Dodger Stadium. It was the winning home run for the American League in their 3-2 victory in the All-Star Game.

On Wednesday morning, Buxton took a different shot. This one was a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection into his injured right knee. And it will keep him out of the Twins' opening series after the All-Star break at Detroit.

Buxton has played the entirety of the Twins' season so far with severe patellar tendinitis. At the break he had played in 73 of 94 games, as the Twins have given him regular days off to help manage the pain and eschew a stint on the injured list. It's worked for the most part. Buxton has smacked 23 home runs while manning center field or being the designated hitter.

Manager Rocco Baldelli said Saturday the PRP procedure has been an option for a while, but Buxton had no interest in doing it while the Twins were playing games. The Twins had an unusually long All-Star break, though, at five days, and they have two more off days Monday and Thursday this upcoming week.

"We wanted to take advantage of some of those days," Baldelli said. "We also wanted him to be able to also play in that All-Star Game, too, which is a very, very special moment for any player, especially your first."

Buxton flew back to Minnesota from Los Angeles right after the All-Star Game and had the procedure early Wednesday morning. Baldelli said Buxton will likely return to the lineup when the Twins travel to Milwaukee for a two-game series beginning Tuesday.

The injection uses a player's own blood cells to promote and quicken healing. But Baldelli wasn't ready to call it a cure.

"We know Buck being off his feet is what helps him the most. The less pounding and banging and swinging and things like that, when he gets a break from that, it feels better," Baldelli said. "And then he can come out and do things on the field that he can't do when it's really, really bothering him."

Buxton said he has just "chilled" the past couple days. Baldelli said it's unsure whether rest alone will fix the problem, and the team has planned for several possible scenarios, including a surgery. But Baldelli said that decision won't come until the season ends.

"It's probably one of those things I'll have to deal with throughout the season," Buxton said. "I do stuff to kind of manage it now to relieve stuff. But for me, it's just win. As long as we win, I don't care. I can deal with it after."

As Caleb Thielbar was striking out Leury Garcia in the sixth inning of the Twins' 11-0 loss to the White Sox last Sunday, he injured his left hamstring. He stayed in the game for one more batter to nab the final out of the inning and had the five-day All-Star break to recover. But Thielbar said he still feels it as he's striding out to make a pitch.

So the Twins put the lefthander and his 4.84 ERA through 35⅓ innings on the 15-day IL.

"It's right where the calf kind of meets the hamstring up behind his knee," Baldelli said. "… It appears to be some kind of muscle issue."

Righty Yennier Cano came up in Thielbar's stead. Cano has made nine appearances for the Twins since his debut earlier this season and has a 9.26 ERA through 11⅔ innings.