Josh Hamilton returns to lineup after leaving Friday’s game with back spasms

UPDATE: Good news for the Rangers, as Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest reports that Hamilton is in the lineup as the designated hitter for tonight’s game.

9:45 AM ET: Josh Hamilton left last night’s game against the Twins with lower back spasms. He tweaked his back in the top of the fifth inning after he made an error while trying to track down a fly ball near the warning track in left field. Leonys Martin then pinch-hit for him in the bottom-half of the inning.

Hamilton told MLB.com’s Christian Corona after the game that he had “never felt anything like it before,” but that he had already noticed some improvement. While he felt confident the back issue wouldn’t force him to miss next week’s All-Star Game, his status for Saturday isn’t yet known.

“I’ll know when I wake up tomorrow morning,” Hamilton said. “It still hurts. It’s not as bad. After I iced it, it actually felt worse, but then it thaws out and it feels better. It’s a good sign.”

Hamilton, the leading vote-getter for the All-Star Game, is batting just .222 with five homers and a 37/14 K/BB ratio in 30 games dating back to the start of June. However, thanks to his absurdly hot start, he still leads the American League in RBI, OPS and slugging percentage.