Twins' Byron Buxton finally gets to play at home in Georgia

ATLANTA – It took nine seasons, but Byron Buxton finally received his first opportunity to play in Atlanta and his home state Monday.

It was the Twins' first road series in Atlanta since Aug. 16-17, 2016, and Buxton was in the minor leagues at the time.

"For me, it's just cool," said Buxton, who played 646 career games before his first one in Atlanta — he didn't start but pinch hit in the ninth inning, making the final out of a 4-1 loss. "I'm going to treat it like another day for me. I've got friends and family that probably ain't ever came to watch a game are able to see me play, and they're able to come because we're close to home. That makes it definitely special to give them the opportunity to come watch — not just me, but watch the Twins. A lot of them want to get to Minnesota, but a lot of people don't like to fly from where I'm at."

Buxton grew up in Baxley, Ga., more than 210 miles outside of Atlanta. He received some messages from hometown friends leading into Monday saying they planned to travel to Truist Park, though he didn't expect a large contingent of family and friends at any of the games this week.

He never attended a game at Turner Field — the first major league game he watched was a few innings at Chicago's Wrigley Field when he was invited to the Under Armour All-America game in 2011 — but he was a fan of his home-state team.

"I didn't watch much, but I watched a few games," Buxton said. "I wasn't the person that liked to sit down and watch TV. I liked to be outside. My dad would be like, 'Hey, the Braves game is on.' I might go in and watch an inning, an inning and a half, and then I'm right back outside. I come back in when it's the ninth and see if they win.

"I wanted to be a switch hitter like [Rafael] Furcal and Chipper [Jones]," Buxton said. "Once I realized, all right, you probably won't play on the dirt, I liked Andruw Jones. I started watching a little bit more outfield guys, Torii [Hunter], guys like that to try to learn a little bit more."

• David Festa, a 23-year-old righthander, will represent the Twins at the MLB Futures Game next month. Rated as the No. 8 prospect in the organization by Baseball America, he owns a 5.12 ERA in 12 starts at Class AA with 64 strikeouts and 22 walks in 51 innings.