'Some sort of miracle' Farmer not worse after struck in face by fastball

MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was visibly shaken after the game. Catcher Ryan Jeffers said the team just wanted to get the game over with after seeing another player get injured.

Wednesday¡¯s 3-1 win against the White Sox at Target Field was a costly one for a Minnesota team that was already reeling with injuries early this season.

The worst of the bunch Wednesday was infielder Kyle Farmer, who left the game in the fourth inning after he was hit in the face by a Lucas Giolito pitch. Three innings later, Byron Buxton took the worst of a collision at second base.

¡°One of the more difficult days that you¡¯re going to have at a ballpark,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°You just can¡¯t stop thinking about [Farmer] and what he¡¯s gone through, and what he¡¯s about to go through.¡±

Giolito's 91.6 mph fastball struck Farmer during his fourth-inning at-bat. He immediately fell to the ground and remained there for several minutes before he was helped off the field by the training staff, a towel held to his face.

Farmer underwent successful dental surgery Wednesday to repair four teeth and a major laceration on his jaw. Baldelli said the fact that Farmer had no apparent fractures was "some sort of miracle."

¡°Nobody wants to see that happen in a baseball game,¡± Jeffers said. ¡°Everybody¡¯s praying for him and praying for a speedy recovery. It¡¯s hard, and I¡¯m glad we went out there and played with the poise that we did after that happened.¡±

Buxton was injured when he collided with White Sox second baseman Lenyn Sosa. Nick Gordon¡¯s grounder was hit softly up the middle and Sosa and Buxton converged near the ball at the same time, with Buxton flipping up into the air and landing hard.

¡°He was going for the ball, and I was trying to get to the base," Buxton said. "It's baseball. It's part of it.¡±

Buxton was sore postgame and would be evaluated further, but Baldelli said Buxton will join the team on the upcoming trip to New York, where Minnesota starts a four-game series on Thursday.

¡°There¡¯s no diagnosis to be had,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°He got whacked in about three different spots. We¡¯re going to see how he wakes up tomorrow.¡±

Farmer is likely looking at a lengthier absence, but the Twins expect to have a further update in about 10 days, when the swelling has reduced and external stitches have been removed.

The Twins were already without Carlos Correa, who missed his fourth consecutive game with mid back spasms. Joey Gallo was placed on the injured list a day earlier. Max Kepler went on the injured list in the past week, and Alex Kirilloff and Jorge Polanco have not yet appeared this season.

Starter Sonny Gray also dealt with an upper-respiratory illness and yet pitched five scoreless innings.

¡°Today was a tough day,¡± Buxton said. ¡°Sonny was sick before the game started. Him coming out and doing what he did to try to get us the win is pretty incredible. It shows the group of guys we've got in here. Farmer, that shakes up everybody.

¡°You kind of didn't hear a pin drop for three innings. It was kind of weird in the dugout. It's just one of those things where -- just win the game. Go out and do what we gotta do to win the game. Everybody was thinking more about him than the game, especially [when] something horrific happens like that. If you've got any type of heart, you care about that person before you do this game. It was tough to finish.¡±

Giolito reacted immediately after the pitch hit Farmer, throwing up his arms and then putting his hands on his head. He was also demonstrative in the dugout following the inning.

¡°It¡¯s something that obviously I feel very very bad about,¡± Giolito said. ¡°Never want to hit anyone up there. It will rattle you in the moment, but you have to do what you can to regain focus in the situation. ... Now thinking about it a little bit more, [I'm] obviously hoping that Farmer¡¯s OK."

Farmer was part of the Twins' effort to add increased depth and versatility when he was added in a November trade with the Reds. With Polanco rehabbing his bothersome left knee, Farmer had been seeing time at second base.

¡°We¡¯ve already been stretched pretty good and been forced to tap into a lot of these guys, change their roles a little bit, put them in different spots. Sometimes different spots on the field, sometimes getting at-bats in situations they weren¡¯t getting on Opening Day, but they¡¯re already getting them now,¡± Baldelli said. ¡°They¡¯ll adapt, they¡¯ll figure out ways to get the job done -- just like today.¡±