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CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona thought the worst when Carlos Carrasco was struck on the right arm by a line drive. "From where I was standing I thought it might have hit him in the face, so there was a little bit of a sense of relief, but it caught him right kind of on that funny bone,'' Francona said after the Indians' 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. "He was hurting.'' Carrasco grabbed his arm after being hit by Joe Mauer's leadoff liner in the second inning and went to his knees on the infield grass. Although the Indians announced Carrasco was diagnosed with a forearm contusion, Francona said the pitcher was struck on the elbow. During his postgame news conference, Francona said Carrasco was still being examined at a hospital. The team was expected to have an update Sunday. Minnesota scored four runs in the first off Carrasco (8-5). His injury forced the Indians to use six relievers, including Adam Plutko, who was scheduled to start Sunday's series finale. Plutko pitched the seventh and eighth.  Carrasco was coming off one of his best starts of the season. He struck out 11 in seven shutout innings against the White Sox on Monday, but he struggled against the Twins. Carrasco threw 37 pitches in the first when he allowed four hits, walked a batter and hit another. Mauer lined the second pitch of the second to the mound, striking Carrasco directly on the arm. He hopped off the mound and went to the ground before being visited by Francona and a team trainer. Carrasco then walked to the dugout with the trainer and was replaced by Oliver Perez. "You don't want to see anybody get hit with a line drive like that,'' Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "It kind of shakes everyone for a moment, even though you try not to let it.'' The ball that struck Carrasco rolled to first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, who stepped on the bag for the out. Carrasco was hit in the face by a line drive in 2015, but made his next turn in the rotation. The right-hander broke his right hand after being hit by a line drive late in the 2016 season and missed the playoffs. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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