Nick Punto was taken out of Saturday’s contest vs. the Astros after the sixth inning due to bruised left ribs.

It’s unclear exactly when Punto injured himself, but one guess is that it occurred when he dove head-first into first base in the fifth inning.

Punto was replaced by Matt Tolbert at second base for the start of the seventh inning.

I’ll have more on the injury after the game.

UPDATE: Punto did indeed injure himself on that head-first dive. Manager Ron Gardenhire said Punto bruised the ribs while hitting the base. Gardenhire didn’t know how serious the injury is. Punto is listed as day-to-day and the club will see how he’s feeling on Sunday.