Twins rally to beat Royals 5-3 after Byron Buxton departs because of injury

MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Twins had a lot of plays to celebrate during their 5-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday, but Byron Buxton's running catch in the third inning came with a cost.

Buxton, who dealt with a nagging hip and shoulder injuries for the final two weeks in May, left Friday's game in the third inning after he secured a catch and crashed into the center field wall at Target Field.

He remained in center field for two more outs before he was removed for a pinch hitter because of a right shoulder contusion, the team announced.

"I was concerned about it because he ran into it full speed, hard," Twins manager Derek Shelton said. "He was shook up a little bit. When he came in and he said he hit that shoulder, the same shoulder that he had the issue with - he wanted to hit and I was like, ‘Nah, there's no chance if you're feeling it in the same spot.'"

The injury put a damper on a game in which Zebby Matthews delivered a seven-inning start, Austin Martin threw out two runners at the plate from right field and Brooks Lee homered while playing strong defense at third base.

It was the Twins' third victory in their past 10 games, and it started after a 76-minute delay with no rain. The Twins didn't want risk burning Matthews with a chance of rain in the area, especially after they deployed a bullpen game Thursday, Shelton said.

Buxton made his catch about one step before he hit the wall with his right shoulder, robbing a hit from Royals designated hitter Carter Jensen. Buxton dropped to the ground and grimaced before fellow Twins outfielders helped him to his feet.

"Great play," Martin said. "I feel like you see that every single day with that guy out there. It's a really special talent. Guy gives it his all and he plays hard. He sets the example for everybody else here in the locker room."

Head trainer Nick Paparesta had a conversation with Buxton about whether he was feeling OK. After Matthews recorded the next two outs in the top of the third inning, Buxton told Shelton that his shoulder took the brunt of it.

"He's way too important to us to take an at-bat to try, so I just took it out of his hands and said no," Shelton said.

Buxton missed five games in May because of a sore right hip flexor, and he was mostly used as a designated hitter until Tuesday. He jammed his shoulder on a slide on May 23, which affected his ability to throw for about a week.

Royals starter Michael Wacha retired nine consecutive batters, which included a four-pitch inning, before the Twins strung four consecutive hits to start the sixth inning.

Lee hit a tying homer, pulling a first-pitch cutter over the right-field wall for his ninth homer of the season. Kody Clemens and Josh Bell followed with back-to-back doubles, giving the Twins their first lead.

Bell scored when Orlando Arcia hit a single that dropped in front of diving right fielder Jac Caglianone, and Caglianone hurried a throw that skipped wide of second base for an error. Arcia capped the four-run frame when he scored after Wacha threw two wild pitches.

Matthews, whose seven innings matched a career high, gave up five hits and two runs. Both runs came within his first five batters. After he issued a walk to Bobby Witt Jr., Matthews surrendered RBI doubles to Vinnie Paquantino and Caglianone.

The Twins, who ended their eight-game streak with an error, boosted Matthews with one of their best defensive games of the season. Buxton made his painful catch against the wall in the third inning. The Royals had a walk and two singles in the fourth inning, but Martin tossed out Caglianone at the plate that included a diving tag from catcher Alex Jackson.

"You've got to give a ton of credit to Alex Jackson because that throw was not on-line," Shelton said. "AJ did a good job of getting the ball in front of getting his glove in front of the plate and letting them slide into it."

Tristan Gray, who replaced Buxton as a pinch hitter, contributed to a run in the third inning. After a leadoff single from Jackson, Gray dropped a bunt single and Jackson advanced two bases through a throwing error. Jackson scored on a ground ball.

Matthews issued a leadoff walk in the seventh inning, one of his four walks that matched a single-game career high, but he came out unscathed after a diving stop-and-throw from Lee on a grounder to his left, and Martin threw out Isaac Collins at the plate after a two-out single from Kyle Isbel.

Matthews, standing behind the plate, pointed toward Martin after the second outfield assist and did a fist pump in celebration.

"That was unbelievable," Matthews said. "I think all the credit goes there. I didn't feel like I made a ton of great pitches and they picked me up. A-Mar, Buck, Brooks, it was unbelievable all around."

Travis Adams gave up two singles and a run in the ninth inning before earning his second save in front of an announced crowd of 19,805.

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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 12:59 AM.