Boston Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo missed Saturday night’s game against Minnesota with a mild concussion, and Twins infielder Nick Punto was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.
Lugo was injured Friday night when he collided with Matt Tolbert while sliding into second base. Jed Lowrie got the start in his place.
"He felt a little woozy this morning," manager Terry Francona said.
Lugo is listed as day to day and the team planned to make a roster move on Sunday, likely sending Lowrie down to Triple-A Pawtucket to make room for Alex Cora, who has been out since April 16 with a sprained right elbow.
Punto strained his left hamstring during the Twins’ most recent road trip to Chicago. He tried to test it out before Saturday night’s game, but said it was really sore.
The Twins recalled infielder Alexi Casilla to take Punto’s place after a 5-2 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday night.
Punto can still swing a bat, but he said the pain really flares up when he tries to sprint or change directions quickly. The hard-nosed Punto has been known to try to play through pain before, but manager Ron Gardenhire said he would be placed on the DL after the game to prevent Punto from injuring it further while trying to rush back.
"It’s not a horrible strain, but there’s a strain in there," Punto said before the loss to Boston. "I think Gardy knows my personality and saw it in my face today that it was probably better off just to put me on the DL. And he is probably right."
Twins second baseman Brendan Harris also missed the game with a right hamstring injury. He left Friday night’s game in the fifth inning and Gardenhire said Harris was available in an emergency situation.
The injuries left Gardenhire with just two healthy bats on the bench _ backup catcher Mike Redmond and outfielder Craig Monroe.
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