Byron Buxton leaves Twins' game Saturday after being hit by pitch

Twins star center fielder Byron Buxton left Saturday afternoon's game in Houston after being hit by a pitch on his left elbow.

Leading off the top of the sixth inning, Buxton was drilled by a 95 mile-per-hour sinker from Astros starter Hunter Brown. The ball appeared to hit Buxton's elbow pad, but he was grimacing while being evaluated by Twins head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta.

Ultimately, Paparesta and manager Rocco Baldelli allowed Buxton to stay in the game, and he stole his 12th base of the season shortly thereafter. He also remained in the game defensively in the bottom half of the sixth. But when the bottom of the seventh began, Harrison Bader was in center to replace Buxton in a 2-2 ballgame.

Hopefully it's nothing more than the Twins being cautious with their oft-injured star, who missed a chunk of time on the concussion IL in May.

Buxton, 31, has had an outstanding season thus far. He played in his 54th game on Saturday (in the Twins' 70th game of the season), putting him well on pace to reach 100 games played for just the third time in his injury-plagued career. He's hitting .273 with 11 home runs, 12 stolen bases, and an .840 OPS. When you combine that with his elite outfield defense, Buxton has a strong case to earn his second All-Star selection this summer.

Especially after losing Royce Lewis to a hamstring strain on Friday night, the Twins can't afford a significant injury to Buxton.

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