Hot-hitting Buxton out of Twins' lineup with hand injury

The Minnesota Twins have been one of the hottest teams in baseball, winning 19 games in the month of August. A lot of their success has to do with outfielder Byron Buxton, who will be missing from the lineup Thursday when they square off against the Chicago White Sox.

He was removed from Wednesday's contest against the White Sox in the seventh inning after injuring his left hand during a swing an inning prior. Buxton's since been diagnosed with a hand contusion and is considered day to day, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger.

There were earlier concerns he might have fractured his hamate bone.

"He had a little bit of a funny swing when his hand slipped off," manager Paul Molitor told reporters Wednesday, including Bollinger. "Hopefully it's nothing. Given the score, I wanted to get him out of there before there was anything further in that game."

Molitor said initial tests after the game showed Buxton's injury wasn't serious, but still described it as "cause for concern," according to MLB Network PR.

The 23-year-old Buxton owns a .324/.354/.619 slash line with eight home runs, 22 RBIs, and eight steals in August.