Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve hit by pitch against Minnesota Twins

MINNEAPOLIS — An X-ray of second baseman Jose Altuve’s left hand came back negative after he was hit by a pitch in the Astros’ win over the Twins on Friday, manager Joe Espada said.

Altuve was diagnosed with a contusion to his left hand, Espada said. Altuve had visible swelling on the back of his left hand after the game, but he believes he avoided a major injury.

“I feel better,” Altuve said. “But I think the adrenaline is still there right now. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow, but I think I’ll be fine.”

Altuve was hit by a 94.3 mph fly ball from Twins reliever Josh Winder in the top of the eighth inning. He left the game after being examined by Astros head athletic trainer Jeremiah Randall on the field.

“When he came out and tried to grab Jeremiah’s hand, he didn’t have much strength left,” Espada said. “That’s why we took him out.”

Last year, Altuve fractured his right thumb after being hit by a pitch during the World Baseball Classic in March. He missed the Astros’ first 43 games of the season because of it and said the thought came to him after he was hit Friday.

“When you get hit by a 95 mph fastball, the first thing you think, especially if you’ve been through it before, is something’s wrong,” Altuve said. “Thank God everything’s OK right now, and hopefully tomorrow everything will be back to normal.”

Asked about his participation in the tournament on Saturday, Altuve said: “We’ll see. If I feel good, I’ll be there.”

Houston is already without right fielder Kyle Tucker, but has won 13 of its last 15 games. Losing Altuve, no matter how long, would obviously be a blow to a team on the rise.

“Players around the league are getting more and more hand injuries right now, so we were very concerned,” third baseman Alex Bregman said. “But we’re happy everything’s going well.”