Carlos Correa doesn’t expect to miss time after hit by pitch, injury scare

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

“I will be playing tomorrow,” Correa said.

There was plenty of concern before an X-ray showed there was no fracture in his right middle finger. When he was plunked by Houston Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti on the fifth pitch of his plate appearance, he immediately shook his hand before holding it atop his helmet.

Correa took off his batting glove when trainer Nick Paparesta walked onto the field, and they walked together down the first base line. After a lengthy chat with Paparesta and manager Rocco Baldelli, Correa returned to the dugout.

The Twins announced the injury as a right finger contusion.

“A lot of concern initially,” Baldelli said. “There is some swelling and some discoloration. We’ll see how he’s moving around and what it looks like over the next day or two. It looks like we avoided a fracture. Those differences are a quarter of an inch here or there, and you get the news you don’t want to hear.”

Correa survived another injury scare June 27 when he was hit by a pitch on his left wrist in Arizona. He was in the lineup the next night in Seattle, as he said he would, and he 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 he was hit by a pitch, and Yordan Alvarez exited Saturday.

Austin Martin was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday because of a right oblique strain. He felt the injury during his pinch-hit single in the ninth inning of the Twins’ 13-12 loss Friday, and he underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam that revealed a minor strain.

“I just felt some tightness and some pain,” he said. “It wasn’t anything initially that was alarming to me, but it was something that I’ve never felt before. I just wanted to go in and bring 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, moving around and certain movements, coughing,” Martin said. “It’s not excruciating. It’s just kind of a little nagging pain.”

The Twins are sending Class AA second baseman/center fielder Luke Keaschall to next Saturday’s MLB Futures Game in Texas. He replaces Brooks Lee on the roster after Lee was promoted to the majors.

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

Baseball America rates Keaschall as the fourth-best prospect in the Twins farm system and No. 48 overall.

* Kyle Farmer was hit by a pitch on his index finger as he attempted to check his swing in the fourth inning Sunday, and it was ruled a strikeout. He exited after the sixth inning, and an X-ray did not reveal a fracture.

* Farmer and Byron Buxton have worn patches on the back of their necks during games. “A bunch of guys used them in L.A.,” said Farmer, who played with the Dodgers for his first two seasons. “I have a really tight neck, so it just helps keep it loose. I think they are really tiny, little needles. You barely even notice if you stepped on it — actually, I did step on one last night, and it hurt. It just helps out and relaxes the muscles.”

* The Twins demoted reliever Josh Winder to Class AAA following Sunday’s game. Chris Paddack is expected to be activated from the 15-day IL Monday to start against the Chicago White Sox.

*Jair Camargo and Chris Williams hit solo homers to lift the St. Paul Saints to a 4-3 victory over Gwinnett at CHS Field.