Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda is pulled after taking 111MPH liner off his ankle

Kenta Maeda had to come out of the game at Fenway Park on Thursday, but the pitcher from Minnesota first had to record an out.

The right-hander Twins pulled a 111 mph line drive off his left ankle in the second inning of Thursday’s 11-5 loss to the Red Sox. He balanced himself with his hands, then threw himself into the ball to get Boston batter Jarren Duran for the third out.

Maeda then fell onto his back and rolled onto his side.

“I’m not surprised to see him playing on one leg,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “You get nervous when guys do that and their leg might be broken. Honestly, I’d rather he didn’t hurt himself by doing that. But he’s very competitive and he won’t stop playing until his leg stops moving.’

The Twins coaching staff rushed out to assist Maeda, who was left alone after a few minutes. The team said Maeda had a bruise on her left ankle and the X-rays came back negative.

“I wasn’t sure if I had broken the bone or not. It happened so fast,’ Maeda said through an interpreter. “I saw the ball fall right in front of me and my first instinct was to get the ball, throw the ball, get it out. … You saw me break down after I did that play, so there was an excruciating pain there.”

Baldelli said he hadn’t yet decided what to do with his rotation, but the Twins have 10 more games to play before their first day off on May 1.

“The decision on Kenta will be a logical, medical decision based on how he is doing,” Baldelli said. “We don’t know those answers today.”

Maeda, who missed the entire season last season recovering from Tommy John’s surgery, said there was swelling but would see how he feels on Friday.

“There’s no bone damage,” he said. “I don’t expect to be out for very long.”

Maeda, who did not recover from Tommy John surgery last season, said there was swelling

The play ended the second inning. Emilio Pagan started the third inning and gave up six runs in the inning, including Duran’s two-run double off the Green Monster.

After using long reliever Brent Headrick for three innings in a 10-4 victory on Wednesday, Baldelli and third baseman Willi Castro went on to get an out in the eighth.

“I was very impressed with his bullpen session in Fort Myers,” Baldelli said with a straight face, then declined to reveal whether he was joking or not. “I saw him throw like 10 eephus throws in a row and the catcher’s glove didn’t move. And I thought, ‘I’ve never seen anyone who can do that.’

Castro led off with three throws that failed to exceed 45 mph and were identified on the scoreboard as “sliders.”

“I won’t watch it later,” Baldelli said, his face deadpan.