Will Byron Buxton recognize his Twins teammates when he returns from latest injury?
Even at the peak of their euphoria, a hard-fought walk-off 7-5 win in 12 innings over the Reds that gave them their fifth straight victory, the Twins were feeling a punch in the gut Monday. Byron Buxton, their best player, was revealed to have a broken left pinky finger after the game  the result of getting hit by a pitch during the victory. It's been that kind of season for Minnesota, which is still just 31-41 and 12 games back of AL Central-leading Chicago even after this winning streak. There was only so much time to celebrate two unlikely heroes  Matt Shoemaker with two shutout innings of relief in the 11th and 12th and Miguel Sano, with a big single in the 10th and the game-winning home run in the 12th. Now comes the realization that they will need even more unlikely heroes over the next month or so, something I talked about on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast. If you don't see the podcast player, tap here to listen. With Buxton, Max Kepler and Kenta Maeda all returning to action recently, and Josh Donaldson's return to the lineup seemingly imminent, the Twins were getting closer to a preferred lineup and rotation than they had in quite some time. That return to health was set to coincide with a last-gasp stretch in which the Twins could at least make their season interesting: After Tuesday afternoon against the Reds the Twins have 25 consecutive games against division opponents, including 10 against the White Sox. If the Twins can put together their best month of the season between now and the end of that stretch on July 21, they might be able to narrow the gap in the division enough to convince Derek Falvey and Thad Levine to keep the roster intact at the trade deadline. Imagine, say, the Twins going 7-3 against the White Sox and 10-5 against the rest of their foes during that 25-game stretch and waking up on July 22 just 6 or 7 games out of the division lead. But what was already unlikely is even less likely without Buxton, whose season was just getting back on track after a lengthy hip injury. Monday's injury feels like another piece in a growing trail of evidence that this just isn't the Twins' year. Buxton was on the field for less than three full games  less than one home game  and is now off again. (Image above courtesy of colleague Howard Sinker from Monday's game, showing just how fleeting Buxton's return to action was). When he finally is able to resume play, it could be late July. All or at least most of this last gasp stretch will be over. And the roster he comes back to could be quite different than the one he briefly rejoined. Imagine, say, the Twins going 4-6 against the White Sox and 7-8 against the rest of their foes during that 25-game stretch and waking up on July 22 staring at a 16-game deficit in the division. That would probably be the signal for the Falvine duo to initiate a significant series of trades involving both expiring contracts and core players. At least with this Buxton injury, a clear timetable for his return should come into focus at a certain point. The only question now is whether Buxton will still recognize a lot of his teammates when he comes back.