Twins' Byron Buxton narrowly avoids collision with racing bratwurst

April 3 (UPI) -- Byron Buxton narrowly avoided a sausage-mascot-related placement on the injured list, ducking away just in time to evade a sprinting bratwurst during a Minnesota Twins loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Milwaukee.

The incident occurred in the middle of the sixth inning of the 3-2 setback Tuesday at American Family Field. The famous racing sausages compete in the same inning during every Brewers home game.

Buxton was standing atop the dugout steps at the start of the incident. He then slowly strolled out of the area, uanware of the four giant figures clad in meat costumes that were sprinting behind him in the same dirt.

Brat, also known as Bratwurst, held an outside position on his foes, Polish Sausage, Italian Sausage, Hot Dog and Chorizo, as the competitors neared home plate. Brat reached the area in front of the dugout steps just as Buxton stepped in front of him.

The Twins outfielder then turned, and wore an expression of shock, before quickly using the dugout fence to pull himself out of danger.

The near-collision badly impacted Brat's odds to win the event. Polish Sausage went on to edge Italian Sausage in a photo finish.

"Just like a normal inning, I get ready to turn around and it was like I'm going to have to take a charge if I can't get out the way," Buxton said, according to the Star Tribune. "Luckily, he wasn't running as fast as I thought he was."

Buxton went 1 for 4 in the loss. He is hitting .286 (4 for 14) through four games. Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich went 1 for 4 with a solo home run in the victory. Second baseman Brice Turang was the only player in the game with multiple hits. He went 2 for 3 with an RBI double for the Brewers.

The Brewers (4-0) will host the Twins (2-2) in the series finale at 1:10 p.m. EDT Wednesday in Milwaukee.