KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Minnesota Twins ace Pablo Lopez left Tuesday's start against the Kansas City Royals in the bottom of the fifth inning because of right hamstring tightness, according to the Twins' medical staff.
Lopez grabbed the back of his leg after walking Jonathan India. Manager Rocco Baldelli and trainer Nick Paparesta visited the mound and took Lopez out after a short discussion.
"What Pablo has going on is a mild right hamstring strain," Baldelli said. "He's going to get an MRI tomorrow to get it checked out. When I say 'mild,' we think it's very mild. We're going to keep him on course. We're not going to have any change of plans of any kind right now. We're just going to assess it and see what tomorrow shows us."
Lopez threw 78 pitches in 4⅔ innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits and a walk with six strikeouts.
"It took a second for Pablo to process and make a decision as to whether or not he wanted to mention anything," Baldelli said. "These guys are competitive and they want to stay in the game. He just needed a second to realize the right thing to do was to mention it. I'm glad he did because the last thing we need is for him to go out there and pitch with something that could potentially get worse. Getting him out of the game was a must."
Cole Sands came on in relief for the Twins, who lost the game 2-1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.