When he woke up on Wednesday, Byron Buxton’s wife, Lindsey, let him know that he was about to hit a major personal milestone.

When he took the field against the Marlins, it marked just the second time in Buxton’s major league career that he’s played in 100 games in a season. Buxton has often been slowed by injuries throughout his career, and while he’s dealt with some this year, as well, he’s also been on the field more than he has in recent years.

“I made it a goal of mine at the beginning of the season, just something small to hit triple digits,” Buxton said. “It’s exciting.”

The milestone, he said, is not just one for himself, but one for his family, as well. It’s also an accomplishment for the Twins’ training staff, as they worked in concert with the 30-year-old to keep him healthy. This season will represent the most games he’s played since playing 140 in 2017.

The center fielder had surgery on his right knee after both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Last year, he played zero games in center field as the Twins tried to manage the sore knee. This season, the Twins mixed in some designated hitter days for him with some off days, but by and large, he’s been out there in center field most days.

“The schedule that he had worked for him this year. He would play two or three or four and then we would have to give him a day and we’d work on him and get him ready to go and then we’d send him back out there for the rest of the week,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think it worked well. I’ve been very pleased with the way he’s handled it, the way he’s worked and the way our training staff has been able to help him.”

Buxton landed on the injured list in May when his knee flared up. A second injured list stint, this one for his hip, kept him out for a month. One of the toughest things for him when he was on the injured list, he said, was wondering if he was going to be able to get back in time to reach 100 games.

It was clear Buxton wasn’t at 100% when he returned, but as he so often has, he’s pushed through it to be available to try to help his team.

“He’s worked very hard. He is a tough dude and he has put a lot into taking the field as much as he possibly can this year,” Baldelli said. “He’s not a player that needs to be pushed to get out there on the field. More times than not you have to pull him back off the field from playing flat-out injured sometimes. He does his part with the work he puts in and his desire to play every single day.”

Twins shake up roster

Justin Topa’s regular season is beginning and Matt Wallner’s is ending.

The Twins activated Topa, a right-handed reliever who has been on the injured list all season, on Wednesday and placed Wallner, one of their best hitters of late, on the injured list with a left oblique strain suffered in Tuesday’s game.

“I just felt like it was going to get worse if I kept going and they said the same thing,” Wallner said.

For Topa, it’s been a long time coming after a knee injury first landed him on the injured list and then he dealt with an elbow issue as he built his way back. The Twins acquired him as part of the Jorge Polanco deal with the Seattle Mariners last offseason, hoping he could fill an important role within the bullpen.

“Just salvaging anything is going to be a win this year for me,” Topa said. “Obviously, injuries and feeling good the second go-around with the knee, and then arm stuff popped up. And with my history, it’s like, ‘Let’s make sure this isn’t anything serious serious.’ But yeah, just being able to get back, whether it’s for a few games or whatever it is here down the stretch, it’s definitely awesome.”

The Twins also recalled utilityman Austin Martin and reliever Jorge Alcala from Triple-A and optioned reliever Brent Headrick and designated Cole Irvin, whom they just picked up last week off waivers, for assignment.

Briefly

The Twins will send David Festa to the mound for the series finale against the Miami Marlins against Valente Bellozo.

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A 45-year-old motorcyclist died in a crash on Minnesota 36 in Little Canada on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

A Hyundai Tucson and the motorcycle were both heading east on Highway 36 near Rice Street, approaching Interstate 35E about 3 p.m. The Hyundai was stopped in the right lane for traffic when the motorcycle collided with the vehicle, the State Patrol said.

The State Patrol said it will release the name of the motorcyclist, who was from Roseville, later Wednesday.

The two people in the Hyundai were uninjured.

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The most impressive moment receiver Jalen Nailor has put on tape during his emergence with the Vikings happened so fast that most people probably missed it.

Fitting. His nickname is Speedy after all.

It wasn’t the notable patience he displayed on a 21-yard touchdown against the New York Giants. It wasn’t the incredible athleticism he showed while contorting his body on a 26-yard gain against the San Francisco 49ers. It wasn’t the crisp route he ran or the contested catch he made on a 4-yard touchdown against the Houston Texans.

No. It was how incredibly fast Nailor looked while chasing down star receiver Justin Jefferson on a 97-yard touchdown against the 49ers that set U.S. Bank Stadium ablaze. Just go back and watch the replay and pay attention to how much ground Nailor covers in pursuit.

“I had him about 30 yards behind Justin when he caught that ball,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “I thought Speedy’s finish to escort him into the end zone was phenomenal.”

Though most people have become familiar with Nailor this season as the third-year player has carved out a niche for himself in Minnesota, the legend of Speedy was born a couple of decades ago about an hour north of Los Angeles.

As an undersized kid playing Pop Warner for the Lancaster Jets, Nailor was without a doubt the fastest kid on the field. His father Jay Nailor remembers being slightly nervous watching his son play until he realized that nobody could catch him.

His peers started calling him Speedy, for obvious reasons, and the nickname became synonymous with Nailor. It’s followed him every step of his career, including now with the Vikings, where he has emerged as an important part of the offense.

“I feel like Speedy has game speed,” quarterback Sam Darnold said. “Just the way he’s able to go play fast and make plays has showed up on game days.”

That’s something former Bishop Gorman head coach Kenny Sanchez noticed about Nailor when he arrived at the prep school in Las Vegas.

“Well, there were people calling him Speedy, so we had a pretty good idea he was going to be fast,” Sanchez said with a laugh. “We noticed it as soon as he got into the field. You can’t teach that type of speed. It was in his DNA.”

That speed helped Nailor dominate at Bishop Gorman. He scored 28 touchdowns, earning several scholarship offers in the process before committing to Michigan State.

“We played against some really good competition,” Sanchez said. “There were always bunch of talented guys chasing him around in the secondary and it never mattered because he was so fast.”

It wasn’t long after arriving at Michigan State that Nailor started to live up to his nickname. He quickly established himself as a deep threat for the Spartans, and while he battled injuries throughout his time in college, he finished his tenure with 86 receptions for 1,454 yards and 12 touchdowns.

That production was enough for the Vikings to take a chance on Nailor in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Naturally, Nailor made a good first impression largely because of his speed, and the Vikings were bullish on developing him into a complete player although injuries continue to be an issue.

The payoff has come over the past few weeks as Nailor has stepped up in place of the injured Jordan Addison. As the secondary option behind Justin Jefferson, Nailor has caught a touchdown in back-to-back-to-back games.

“We’ve been excited about Speedy ever since we got him,” offense coordinator Wes Phillips said. “When he’s been available for us, he’s been consistently able to win and separate, and we’ve got a lot of trust in him.”

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