White Sox's Andrus goes on IL with oblique injury

Just one day after Yoan Moncada returned from a back injury, the White Sox were forced to put second baseman Elvis Andrus on the injured list with an oblique injury.

Andrus was hurt after following through on a swing in the eighth inning of Friday's 5-1 loss to the Houston Astros. Andrus winced in pain as he was running down the line.

"Those things (obliques) have a mind of their own, so we'll see how long that is," said Sox manager Pedro Grifol.

Hanser Alberto (14-for-55, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs) replaced Andrus at 2B against Houston on Saturday. He batted seventh and went 1-for-4.

"Alberto will get a lot of time there," Grifol said. "Not all of it, but he'll get a lot of (it). Then Romy (Gonzalez is) here now, so we'll see how he plays a factor in this."

Gonzalez was reinstated off the IL after missing time with right shoulder inflammation.

Andrus was tied with Andrew Vaughn for the team lead in games played at 39. He was hitting just .201 with a .280 on-base percentage.

Still out:

Catcher Yasmani Grandal continues to nurse a hamstring injury and was not in Saturday's lineup.

"If he can play (Sunday), I might put him in there," said manager Pedro Grifol. "If not, we'll give him the extra 48 hours so he can get ready to go on Tuesday."

Seby Zavala replaced Grandal for a second straight game and batted eighth.

Around the horn:

The Sox have homered in 11 of their last 13 games. ... Relief pitcher Joe Kelly threw 1⅓ innings Saturday and has not allowed a run in his last five appearances. Opponents are 1-for-18 with 10 strikeouts over that time. ... Yoan Moncada snapped an 0-for-16 skid with a double in the second inning. ...

The Astros' Jose Abreu had seven 20-HR seasons with the White Sox (and 19 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign), but he's still searching for his first long ball with Houston. Abreu is hitting a career-worst .213. ... Going into Saturday, White Sox pitchers led the majors with 385 strikeouts. Minnesota was second with 381.