Jimenez sits out with 'significant knee bone bruise'
Don't blame Eloy Jimenez's overwhelming desire to play outfield for his latest injury.
Late in spring training, Jimenez tried catching a home run hit by Oakland's Sean Murphy and wound up rupturing his left pectoral tendon. He was sidelined four months.
The White Sox's left fielder also injured his ankle and shoulder in separate defensive misadventures in 2019, and more than a few fans strongly feel he should be the full-time designated hitter.
Jimenez had to sit out Wednesday night's game against the Athletics with a bruised right knee. Call this ailment a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In the Sox's 6-3 win Tuesday at Oakland, Andrew Vaughn's line drive into the dugout hit Jimenez on the knee.
"He got smoked," manager Tony La Russa said. "He's got a significant bone bruise there, but the X-ray was negative, so it's just real sore."
Without Jimenez in the lineup Wednesday night, the White Sox lost to the A's 5-1.
Dallas Keuchel started for the Sox, and the veteran left-hander was cuffed for 15 earned runs in 9 innings over his last 3 starts.
Hoping to be included in the playoff rotation, Keuchel took the mound against Oakland with a 5.22 ERA.
"Obviously it hasn't been going well, especially the last three starts," Keuchel said before facing the A's. "It's just a little bit of I'm trying way too hard in certain situations. I'm not making consistent competitive pitches and getting ahead of guys. It's almost like I'm wasting one or two pitches and then the count is back even, and then I'm not making as quality of a pitch as I should be."
Keuchel was slightly better vs. the Athletics, giving up 5 runs in 5⅔ innings.
With one out in the ninth inning, infielder Romy Gonzalez singled for his first major-league hit.
As for Jimenez, he's feeling better the day after suffering a freak injury.
"I was paying attention to the game, but I never expect a foul ball to come into my knee," he said. "Like Jesus, oh my God. It was crazy. Everybody was like out of the way. At the beginning, it was a little bit sore. By the fifth inning, it started getting worse, but today I feel much better."
Jimenez hopes to be back in the lineup Friday night when the White Sox return home to play Boston.
"As soon as I found it was a bone bruise, it was OK," he said. "I know I've been through a lot this year, but this is not going to stop me."
Tim Anderson has been dealing with tight hamstrings through much of the season, and the Sox's star shortstop hopes to come off the injured list as soon as possible.
"I don't know what it is, to be honest," Anderson told reporters Wednesday in Oakland. "It's really just soreness. I know you're tired of hearing that but, you know, that's just what it is, really. I feel like it's going away. Hopefully I can get back in there pretty soon."