Minnesota Twins infielder Eduardo Escobar left Thursday's 9-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox in the top of the fourth inning after being hit by a pitch earlier in the game.
Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello hit Escobar with a fastball just above the right elbow in the bottom of the first inning. Escobar, who leads the majors with 32 doubles this season, remained in the game before leaving in the fourth. He was replaced at third base by Taylor Motter.
The Twins announced that Escobar has a bruised elbow and is considered day-to-day.
In the top of the first inning, Boston's J.D. Martinez had to hit the dirt to dodge a high-and-inside pitch from Twins starter Kyle Gibson.
Asked whether he thought Porcello intentionally hit Escobar, Minnesota manager Paul Molitor paused before saying, "It didn't look particularly good to me."
Porcello moved into a tie for the American League lead with his 10th hit batsman.
Said Escobar, through an interpreter: "I respect Porcello a lot. He's one of the best pitchers in the league. If he did it on purpose, I don't really know what the purpose is behind it. I've never done anything against him. I was trying to protect myself, and we'll just move on."
Gibson also hit Sandy Leon with a pitch in the sixth.
In Tuesday's game, Red Sox starter Chris Sale hit Joe Mauer, before the Twins' Jose Berrios plunked Mookie Betts, and Mauer later was hit again by reliever Robby Scott.
Escobar, who is hitting .299 with 12 home runs and a team-leading 48 RBIs, is just 15 doubles shy of tying Justin Morneau's club record of 47, set in 2008.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
