Hunter starts his two-game suspension

ARLINGTON, Texas – Torii Hunter was in the Twins lineup for a while Saturday, but with back-to-back day games, the 39-year-old outfielder likely would not have been on Sunday. And when Hunter didn't feel well upon arriving at Globe Life Park, this weekend became an opportune time for him to serve his two-game suspension.

After the Twins consulted with his agent and the MLB Player's Association, Hunter decided to withdraw his appeal shortly before Saturday's 11-7 loss to the Rangers and left the park, the punishment for his equipment-throwing tirade after being ejected from Wednesday's game with the Royals. Hunter, who lives in nearby Prosper, Texas, will rejoin the Twins before their flight to St. Louis following Sunday's game.

"Torii had a rough night physically. He's battling a little bit of fever and flu symptoms," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He wanted to try to play today, but the more we thought about it, to put him out in the heat with potential dehydration, we said, 'Why don't we go ahead and take care of this?' "

Hunter on Friday proclaimed his intention to appeal the two-game suspension, triggered when he confronted umpire Mark Ripperger after being called out on strikes in the eighth inning of the Twins' 7-2 loss to Kansas City. The argument turned into comedy when Hunter stripped off his shin guard, knee pad and jersey and threw them on the field.

Hunter's decision turned into a full-blown shortage of outfielders Saturday when Aaron Hicks felt pain in his right elbow before the game.

Hicks was in the batting cage getting loose about two hours before the game, when his right elbow stiffened up. "He's having some trouble with his right elbow, with his swing. That's not a good sign," Molitor said. "It didn't go well swinging, lefthanded or righthanded."

Shane Robinson started in center. With Hunter suspended and Hicks sidelined, the Twins were left with just one bench player for Saturday's game: catcher Kurt Suzuki, who is going through an 0-for-17 slump.

The injury may have been particularly ill-timed for Hicks, who was examined by a doctor before the game. The Twins will wait until Sunday morning to decide if he must go on the disabled list. At the least, however, he has lost his job in center field for the time being, with Byron Buxton being added to the roster for Sunday's game.

After thinking about it overnight, Rangers official scorer Will Rudd decided Saturday that the fly ball that Hicks missed on Friday night, the missed play that cost the Twins the game, should have been ruled a double rather than an error. He notified Elias Sports Service, which tracks MLB's official statistics.

The change has a major effect on several statistics, including adding eight points to Mitch Moreland's batting average and two RBI to his total. The change means both runs that scored on the play, and the two that scored moments later on Elvis Andrus' single, become earned runs rather than unearned. Doing so changed Aaron Thompson's ERA from 3.86 to 4.15, Ryan Pressly's from 2.75 to 3.20 and Brian Duensing's from 9.00 to 10.22.

Hicks seemed to accept the scoring Friday night, saying that "it's a play I make every day," but Hunter's initial reaction was that it was a hit, because Hicks ran so far to reach it.

The Twins say they will ask MLB to review the scoring in order to clarify the play.

• Molitor on Suzuki's slump: "He had a little three- or four-game stretch there where he got a few hits. Since that time, I don't know — if he's hit 10 balls hard, he might have a hit. We don't go down that road too often, but [it's] bad luck. … It's hard when you're a veteran leader and your team isn't playing particularly well, and you don't feel like you're getting the hits you need to to try to get us back on track. So I think it's affecting him a little bit."