Carlos Correa exits Twins game after being hit by pitch on forearm

PHOENIX – There may not have been a happier player than Carlos Correa after the Twins’ 13-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, smiling as he walked through the clubhouse.

It was the look of a guy who survived an injury scare.

Correa was hit by a pitch on his right wrist in the seventh inning, a 94-mph sinker from D-backs reliever Bryce Jarvis. His right hand immediately went numb, and he feared the worst. His teammates did, too, after watching him immediately walk off the field and slam his helmet against the dugout wall.

So, it was a major relief when an X-ray revealed there was no fracture.

“Obviously, I was a little bit frustrated when the ball hit me and the hand went numb and I was like, ‘Oh, there’s no way,’ ” Correa said. “The way we’re playing as a team, I want to be out there every single day but thankfully it was just a little scary situation but we’re good.”

The numbness in Correa’s hand wore off as he sat in the clubhouse, and head trainer Nick Paparesta was encouraged with how Correa’s wrist responded to testing before an X-ray.

“I’m ready to play tomorrow,” Correa said. “Yes, I’ll be in the lineup tomorrow.”

Jarvis hit Byron Buxton in the back with his first pitch in the sixth inning, another sinker, and then Correa was plunked with the first pitch in the seventh inning. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo removed Ketel Marte and Christian Walker afterward, with a lopsided score, because he wanted to protect them from being hit as retaliation.

“I do not believe in taking a baseball and intentionally throwing at any hitter at any time,” Lovullo said. “If we’re getting beat around and hit around by a team that is doing what they’re supposed to do, and we’re hitting batters, I feel like that is one of the more cowardly acts that can take place. I can assure you that Bryce Jarvis was not trying to throw at anybody.”

Royce Lewis ended the longest hitless streak of his career (17 at-bats) with a double he lined over the head of Arizona left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the fifth inning Thursday.

Before this hitless skid, Lewis had only three instances in his major league career where he went hitless in two consecutive games. He told Twins hitting coach David Popkins earlier this month, “Hey, I don’t do that slump thing.”

“I think many people get caught up in ‘Oh, I’m struggling,’ ” Lewis said. “... That’s horrible thinking. This game is a mental sport. That’s what I meant when I said that [to Popkins].

“That’s why I say I don’t agree with the term ‘slump.’ It just doesn’t make sense to me. Like ‘I’m in a slump.’ ‘Why are you in a slump?’ It’s a totally different umpire. Different pitcher. They might even have a bullpen and you might face four different pitchers. To me, that doesn’t even make sense.”

The Twins reached the halfway point in their season Wednesday, ending the first half with a 45-36 record. It’s a five-game improvement from the same point last year, though they are trailing Cleveland by 7½ games in the AL Central.

“We’re in a great spot,” Correa said. “We could be in a better spot. We’re not leading the division, but at the same time, Cleveland’s playing really good baseball and that’s the team right now that’s leading, but I feel good with where we’re at as a team. I feel good with the strides we made the last month and we’re trending the right way, so let’s keep doing that.”

• Jhoan Duran entered with a five-run lead and faced two batters in the eighth inning Wednesday. “He actually asked to pitch in the game,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He was eager to get back out there. Once we were in a winning game, then it just made the decision a lot easier in my mind.”

• The Twins optioned reliever Ronny Henriquez to Class AAA to make room for starting pitcher David Festa on the 26-man roster Thursday.

• Cole Roederer hit a go-ahead three-run homer off Nick Wittgren in a six-run bottom of the seventh inning, and the Saints lost at Iowa 11-9.