Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn left today’s start in the fifth inning after being hit in the face with a line drive from the Yankees’ Bobby Abreu.

Brian Bass entered in relief. Blackburn walked off the field under his own power.

The ball appeared to hit him on the right side of the face. Abreu seemed shaken up by the incident, as he raised both hands above his head after the ball hit Blackburn, who lay on the mound on his back for a moment.

Blackburn, 26, has been one of the top rookie pitchers in the American League this season. He is 4-3 with a 3.32 ERA

Updates as we get them…

Update (2:47 p.m.): The Twins announced that Blackburn did not lose consciousness. The ball defelected off his glove and hit him square in the nose, the team said. He is being taken for X-rays.

Update (3:50 p.m.): The Twins just announced that the X-rays showed no broken bones. Blackburn did not lose any teeth. He has a bruised nose, and bruised upper lip but is listed as day-to-day.

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