Blackburn hit by line drive

His face just hit by a line drive, Nick Blackburn flung his arms out and flopped on the turf in front of the mound at Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Twins feared the worst, and so did Bobby Abreu – whose powerful swing produced that liner with one out in the fifth inning of Sunday’s game between Minnesota and the New York Yankees.

But the rookie right-hander quickly rose to his feet and walked off the field on his own, a towel pressed to his face to keep the blood from spurting out of his nose. The damage was minimal: a bruised nose and upper lip.

Abreu winced as soon as he broke from the batter’s box, putting his hands to the sides of his helmet as he ran to first for an infield single. He looked shaken while standing on the bag as Brian Bass warmed up, and again in the dugout after the inning.

Blackburn and Abreu spoke after the game. The Yankees’ right fielder was relieved.

The impact was lessened because Blackburn bent backward to dodge the ball. It grazed off his glove before hitting the right side of his nose. He didn’t lose consciousness, and his teeth stayed intact.

Wrist sidelines Ortiz

Designated hitter David Ortiz wasn’t in the starting lineup for the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

Ortiz sprained his wrist Saturday night while swinging at a pitch in Boston’s 6-3 win over Baltimore.

Ortiz will be examined in Boston today.

Ortiz had missed only four games before Sunday. He is batting .252 and leads the Red Sox with 13 homers and 43 RBIs.

Bench coach Brad Mills, in charge because manager Terry Francona was absent to attend his daughter’s high school graduation, used Manny Ramirez at DH on Sunday. Ramirez hit his 500th home run on Saturday night and added No. 501 on Sunday.

Catcher retires a Philly

Former Philadelphia catcher Mike Lieberthal signed a one-day minor league contract and officially retired as a member of the Phillies.

The 36-year-old Lieberthal spent 13 of his 14 years in the Majors with the Phillies.