Buxton records first multi-hit game of '14

If you ever wondered how long it takes for a hitter to get back into the swing of things after a wrist injury, the answer apparently is 11 games.

Sidelined to start the season and for two months beginning in early May, Byron Buxton went 3-for-4 with an RBI triple, a walk and a run scored Wednesday night in Class A Advanced Fort Myers' 5-1 win at Daytona.

After grounding out to lead off the game, MLB.com's top overall prospect laced an RBI triple to center field with two outs in the third inning. He singled and scored in the fifth, drew a two-out walk in the sixth and laced a base hit back up the middle in the eighth.

It was his 16th career game with at least three hits and first since going 3-for-4 on Aug. 13.

Buxton missed the start of the season after injuring his left wrist diving for a fly ball in Spring Training. Originally scheduled to start the year with Double-A New Britain, he joined Fort Myers on May 4. But five games and 20 at-bats into his campaign, the 20-year-old reinjured his wrist sliding into second base.

The Twins sent Buxton for an MRI so they could compare the results to those obtained when he sprained the pisotriquetral joint in April.

"It was just a freak accident," he told The (Fort Myers) News-Press earlier this week. "I was feeling good when I came back then. I just went in and slid. I had to go back and let it heal back up again. It feels great now."

The Georgia native missed almost two months before returning to game action on July 6. He went hitless in his first three games but has hit safely in each of the past three games.

"It's a big part of being at the plate in making contact," Buxton told the newspaper. "You have to make sure it's fully healed before you get back on the field because you want to be able to be 100 percent and not have to worry about hurting your wrist again.

"I'm at that point now. I'm just trying to get back into the groove and help the team in any way that I can."

In two stints with the Miracle, Buxton is batting .205 with three RBIs.

Now in his third year of pro ball, he batted .334 across two levels last season en route to a host of accolades. He was named to the All-Star Futures Game, earned Midwest League's MVP and Prospect of the Year honors and was selected to the Rising Stars Game in the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League.

Buxton led all Minor League full-season players with 18 triples, ranked second with 109 runs scored, tied for sixth with a .944 OPS and was 10th with 163 hits.

Fort Myers right fielder Adam Brett Walker -- the Twins' No. 12 prospect -- was 3-for-5 with his Florida State League-leading 20th homer. Miracle starter Matt Tomshaw (8-2) allowed one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out four over eight innings.