Edwin Encarnacion leaves after being hit by pitch, X-rays negative

Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion was forced to leave Sunday's game against the Red Sox after being hit with an errant fastball in the right hand/wrist area. X-rays were negative, and he's listed as day-to-day.

Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion was forced to leave Sunday's game against the Red Sox after being hit with an errant Daniel Bard fastball in the right hand/wrist area. He jumped around in what appeared to be some serious pain (as you can see from the picture above) before eventually taking his base, but he didn't bat next time through the order.

It appears Encarnacion dodged a bullet, because the Blue Jays have announced X-rays came back negative and he's listed as day-to-day. One of the easiest ways for a player to lose "four to six weeks" or so of his season is to get hit with a pitch in the hand/wrist area and break a bone. So when seeing someone in the kind of pain Encarnacion was, it was easy to worry about a fracture.

If Encarnacion did miss time, it would have been devastating for both himself and the Blue Jays. He's in the middle of a career year, as he came into Sunday hitting .279/.342/.578 with 17 homers, 42 RBI, 30 runs and six stolen bases through 53 games. He is on pace to set career highs in home runs, RBI, runs, slugging percentage and OPS and is on track to make his first-ever All-Star Game.

The Blue Jays won Sunday, pushing their record to 28-26. They are three games out in a 1-5 battle in the AL East.