Angels' Pujols hopes to return to lineup Friday

Albert Pujols howled in pain when an errant fastball from Drew Hutchison struck him on the left hand Wednesday night, a stint on the disabled list seemingly inevitable after he left the game in the top of the fifth inning.

Less than 24 hours later, though, the 35-year-old first baseman wielded a much more positive outlook after a CT scan revealed only a contusion.

“I could've gone out there and played today, but one day won’t hurt it," Pujols told MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez before Thursday's series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays. “If I feel good in less than 24 hours, I’ll play tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll feel, not 100 percent, but good enough to play where I can swing the bat.”

Pujols remained in the game briefly after being hit in the fourth inning, but was replaced by Marc Krauss in the top of the fifth after swelling in his hand prevented him from properly gripping the bat.

“My strength is there, but because it’s so swollen, I can’t grip the bottom part of my bat,” said Pujols, who had his left hand heavily wrapped. “You can be sore in your hamstring or your leg, but if it’s your hand and you can’t swing the bat, it’s hard. I don’t want to put myself in that situation. If it was Game 7 of the World Series, yeah, but we still have a long season.”

Pujols, who missed several weeks in 2011 due to a fractured left wrist, is hitting just .231/.288/.413 (98 OPS+) with seven home runs this season, his fourth in Los Angeles.