A couple of extra notes from the Twins' 8-2 loss to Cincinnati:
Byron Buxton sounded as bored as you would expect of a guy who hasn't played since April 12. "It's killing me," he said. "I just need to get this [sore left big toe] calmed down so I can get back out there."
The hairline fracture that's causing him pain is minor compared to the only other broken bone of his life, Buxton said. That one came in 2003, he estimated, "When I was 8 or 9 years old."
Buxton was playing center field in a youth game, and circled under a fly ball while eyeing a runner tagging up at second base. "As the ball came down, I stuck my glove up to catch it. But I wasn't looking at it, and it hit my thumb and broke it," Buxton recalled.
Painful? "Oh yeah," he said. "But I played with it. My dad let me play anyway."
XXX
The game was already decided, but a bottom-of-the-ninth double probably still meant something to Logan Morrison, the Twins' designated (and slumping) hitter.
Morrison, just 4-for-37 (.108) at Target Field when he came to the plate, lined a first-pitch fastball from David Hernandez into the right-field corner, his first double in his new home stadium.
"He's really trying to get away from muscling the baseball and trusting his hand action through the zone," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He's still going to swing hard, but he's been trying to get it under a little bit more control. He's been getting better feedback the last couple of days over the quality of his at-bats."
This one produced a run, too, when Jason Castro doubled him home a few moments later. It wasn't much in an 8-2 loss, but it capped a 3-for-9 weekend series for Morrison.
