Carlos Correa returns, Byron Buxton in lineup for victory over Yankees

NEW YORK — The last the Twins saw of Byron Buxton, he was tumbling to the ground during a collision with White Sox second baseman Lenyn Sosa, an incident that knocked the Twins' DH out of the game. The last they saw of Carlos Correa, he was sitting in the dugout for a third consecutive day, unavailable because of lower back soreness.

"So we got some really good news, coming in here today," Rocco Baldelli said before Thursday's opener with the Yankees: Buxton and Correa said they were both available to play.

"Correa gave the thumbs-up, which is something we've been waiting for and are very pleased about. He seems like he's good," Baldelli said. "Buck was pretty stiff when he woke up, but ultimately he's doing better, and said he was also ready. We have more of a solidified lineup, which is great to see."

It should get even better this weekend, too. Max Kepler, on the injured list with a sore right knee, could be activated as soon as Saturday, when he becomes eligible.

"Running actually came reasonably quickly to him. I don't know if he's up to 100 percent, but he moved well and his strides looked good," Baldelli said. "But slowing down, he would feel the reoccurrence of the pain. So I think that subsided. He's doing a lot better."

That leaves Kyle Farmer, who underwent surgery on his mouth and upper lip after being hit by a Lucas Giolito fastball on Thursday. Farmer's front four bottom teeth were pushed back to the rear of his mouth, but the surgeon was able to put them back in place, with hardware to hold them in place for now.

"He's not going to be eating solid food for at least a little while," Baldelli said. "His lip — the scar is probably going to be there. It's significant. I don't know if we're going to be able to hide that one. Hopefully, it's just a good story someday."

There is no timeline for Farmer's return, the manager said, because it's hard to know how long the healing process will take. But Farmer is eager to hurry back.

"He's texting everybody. He's in fairly good spirits, all things considered," Baldelli said. "What he went through was beyond horrible. Luckily, his wife is with him. He's going to need some help for a little while."

Farmer's misery was Kyle Garlick's good fortune, but the reserve outfielder definitely didn't want to think about it that way. After all, Garlick said, he and Farmer has been friends for years, since their days together as prospects in the Dodgers system.

But Garlick said he was definitely glad to able to help when the Twins needed it.

"Coming into spring training and seeing all of the guys we signed, I kind of had an idea that I was going to be starting in Triple-A, especially not being on the 40-man roster. So I didn't get down about it," Garlick said after hitting three home runs in eight games for St. Paul. "I just tried to stay positive, go down and keep getting my at-bats, stay healthy and be ready whenever they needed me up here."

They'll almost certainly need him on Friday, when lefthander Nestor Cortes pitches for the Yankees.