SAN DIEGO -- Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado suffered an injury at the base of his right hand, beneath the thumb, and left Sunday's 8-4 win over the Padres after five innings.
Arenado was injured hitting a soft liner in the third inning and stayed in the game through the fifth.
"I took a funky swing, I don't know if I sprained my hand, but it got real swollen," Arenado said. "It didn't feel bad, but it didn't feel great. They decided to take me out. I tried to stay in."
Arenado and manager Bud Black were optimistic about his availability for Monday's game against the Marlins -- the opener of a six-game homestand to end the regular season, as the Rockies try to hang onto the second National League Wild Card spot. They lead the Brewers by two games and the Cardinals by 2 1/2.
"We think he's going to be fine," Black said. "It really became swollen as the game went on there for a couple innings prior to us taking him out. We're optimistic -- day to day, bruised hand, we got ice on it immediately. We'll ice it the rest of the afternoon on the flight and see how he's doing."
Pat Valaika, who pinch-hit for starter German Marquez in the top of the sixth and had an RBI double to give the Rockies a 5-2 lead, took Arenado's place in the bottom of the sixth.
Arenado was 1-for-3, which left his average at .305. Arenado leads the National League with 126 RBIs, and has 35 home runs.