MILWAUKEE -- Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer has suffered his share of injuries to his right hand over the past two seasons.

Many of those injuries have kept him out for prolonged periods of time.

So it's no surprise that many of his teammates were concerned when the he left Friday night's game against the Brewers in the second inning after being hit on his right hand by a pitch.

The incident occurred in the first inning when Cuddyer was struck directly on the knuckle of his fourth finger by a 1-1 fastball from Brewers starter Dave Bush.

However, this time the Twins got good news when Cuddyer got X-rays that revealed nothing but a bruise.

"For all the weird injuries we've had this year, you almost just expect it to come back with a broken hand, you know?" Justin Morneau said. "So to take a picture and all looks good, that's a positive. He's a big part of our team"

Cuddyer played the bottom half of the first inning in right field, but when he came back into the dugout, he was in pain.

"I went out there and threw," Cuddyer said. "But it hurt and it was definitely bruised."

After Cuddyer came back into the dugout, Twins head trainer Rick McWane looked at his hand and the right fielder headed to get X-rays.

Jason Kubel moved from left field to right field in place of Cuddyer and Delmon Young entered the game in left.

Young then proceeded to take advantage of the situation, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. It prompted Gardenhire to evoke the name Wally Pipp, the first baseman whom Lou Gehrig replaced to start his consecutive games streak.

Cuddyer, though, plans on returning shortly.

"As the day progressed, it got better," Cuddyer said. "Hopefully it will be less sore tomorrow and I'll be able to play. That's my hope."