Carlos Correa hit by pitch, Austin Martin injured

After Carlos Correa After leaving Sunday’s game in the first inning, hit by a 96 mph fastball on his right hand, he had a five-word answer when asked how he felt afterward:

“I’ll play tomorrow,” Correa said.

There was a lot of concern before an X-ray showed there was no fracture in his right middle finger. When he was hit by the Houston Astros’ starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti On the fifth pitch of his at-bat, he immediately shook his hand before holding it above his helmet.

Correa took off his batting glove when the coach Nick Paparesta They entered the field and walked together along the first base line. After a long conversation with Paparesta and the manager Rocco BaldelliCorrea returned to the shelter.

The Twins announced the injury as a contusion to the right finger.

“At first, there’s a lot of concern,” Baldelli said. “There’s swelling and discoloration. We’ll see how it moves and what it looks like in a day or two. It looks like we avoided a fracture. These differences are a quarter-inch here or there, and you get news you don’t want to hear.”

Correa survived another injury a little over a week ago when he was hit by a pitch on his left wrist. He was in the lineup the next night, as he had promised, and hit a home run.

Seven batters were hit in the three-game series between the Twins and Astros. Jose Altuve left Friday’s game after being hit by a pitch, and Yordan Alvarez released on Saturday.

Martin in Illinois

Austin Martin was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a strained right oblique muscle. He felt the injury while fielding a pinch hit in the ninth inning of the Twins’ 13-12 loss Friday, and he underwent an MRI scan that revealed a minor strain.

“I just felt some tension and some pain,” he said. “At first it wasn’t anything that alarmed me, but it was something I’d never felt before. I just wanted to go out there and draw attention to it.”

The Twins promoted Matt Wallner to fill Martin’s spot on the 26-man roster.

“I feel it when I wake up, when I move, when I cough,” Martin said. “It’s not excruciating. It’s just a little bit of a throbbing pain.”

Futures Game Replacement

Twins send Class AA second baseman/center fielder Luc Keashall at next Saturday’s MLB Futures game in Texas. He replaces Brooks Lee on the roster after Lee was promoted to the major leagues.

Keaschall, 21, is hitting .314 with 21 doubles, nine homers, 34 RBIs and a .431 on-base percentage in 81 games between Class A-Advanced and AA. He was selected in the second round of last year’s amateur draft out of Arizona State.

Baseball America rates Keaschall as the fourth-best prospect in the Twins’ farm system and the 48th overall prospect.

Etc.

* Kyle Farmer He was hit by a pitch on his index finger while trying to control his swing in the fourth inning Sunday, and he was called out with three strikes. He left the field after the sixth inning, and an X-ray did not reveal a fracture.

* Farmer and Byron Buxton Players wear patches on the back of their necks during games. “A lot of guys wore them in Los Angeles,” said Farmer, who played for the Dodgers during his first two seasons. “I have a really tight neck, so it helps loosen it up. I think they’re tiny needles. You hardly notice if you step on them — in fact, I stepped on them last night, and it hurt. It helps and relaxes the muscles.”

* The Twins demoted their reliever Josh Winder in class AAA after Sunday’s game. Chris Paddack is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list Monday to start against the Chicago White Sox.

* Jair Camargo And Chris Williams hit solo home runs to lead the St. Paul Saints to a 4-3 victory over the Gwinnett Stripers on Sunday at CHS Field.