Lopez fans 14 in Chicago White Sox's win; Jimenez goes on IL
It was a good day on the field for the Chicago White Sox. Off the field, not so much.
Before starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez sparked a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers with a career-high 14 strikeouts at Guaranteed Rate Field, the Sox placed left fielder Eloy Jimenez (high right-ankle sprain) and relief pitcher Nate Jones (right-elbow inflammation) on the 10-day injured list.
White Sox pitchers had 20 strikeouts in the game, a club record.
Ten minutes before first pitch, the White Sox added reliever Ryan Burr (right shoulder A/C joint inflammation) to the IL.
Left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer and righty Thyago Vieira were recalled from Class AAA Charlotte to replace Jimenez and Jones.
The Sox will make another move for Burr before Monday night's game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Jimenez injured his ankle in Friday night's 12-11 win. In the third inning, he tried to make a leaping catch on Grayson Greiner's 2-run homer and his right foot got stuck in the padding on the left-field fence.
The White Sox's rookie twisted his ankle before falling and landing on the warning track, and he had to be helped off the field by trainer Brian Ball and manager Rick Renteria.
The news could have been worse - Jimenez could have fractured the ankle and missed two months or more.
High ankle sprains can be bothersome, but they typically take much less time to heal. Jimenez is not going to do anything baseball related for two weeks and then be re-evaluated.
"They just tell me we are going to work day by day and see how I feel," he said. "It feels much better. The first day, I couldn't even walk. Now, I feel better. I can walk better. There's no pain a lot now, just a little bit."
Jose Rondon replaced Jimenez in Sunday's lineup, playing left field for the first time in his career.
Left-hander Matthew Boyd started for the Tigers, so the right-handed Rondon was a logical matchup. Lefty Nicky Delmonico figures to play left field against right-handed starters.
While he's still a work in progress on offense and defense, Jimenez can continue developing while the ankle heals.
"That's probably something you never want to experience with them because they need their playing time," Renteria said. "But as they're here now, they can take a seat and be able to observe at the major-league level, probably see things from a different perspective.
"There are certainly a lot of conversations you can have now during ballgames. But there's no replacing being out in the field and participating. You just make the best of it that you can and continue to move forward."
The White Sox will hope for the best with Jones, who has had a string of health issues that include Tommy John surgery in 2014.
Jones, 33, is 0-1 with a 3.48 ERA in 13 relief appearances this season.
"He's had a little bit of a history with his elbow," Renteria said. "Everybody's obviously concerned, not overly. Hopefully it's just some inflammation and something he can deal with."
Burr is 1-0 with a 5.68 ERA in 10 appearances.
"He just developed a little soreness from the usage, but he feels fine," Renteria said. "He feels really, really good. If you ask him he'd probably say he didn't need to do it (go on IL)."