Davidson breaks foot in first game with White Sox

In a span of 24 hours, third baseman Matt Davidson got his first call-up to the White Sox from AAA Charlotte, his first hit in a Sox uniform and his first trip to the disabled list.

And in a span of two months, three Sox callups from Charlotte have been unable to finish their first game because of an injury.

Talk about strange.

“We’re hot that way,” manager Robin Ventura said. “I think they’re afraid to come up. It’s odd.’’

Davidson, the Sox designated hitter in the Sox 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins Thursday at U.S. Cellular Field, fractured his right foot rounding first base after lining an RBI single to center field in the fourth inning against left-hander Tommy Milone.

Davidson stayed in the game but plodded to third on J.B. Shuck’s double and scored when Adam Eaton was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. He was pinch-hit for by Jason Coats in the sixth inning with the Sox leading 5-4. He was unavailable after the game.

“It’s terrible,” Coats, a teammate of Davidson’s at Charlotte. “To work so hard this year and have this happen to him is crazy.

“He came up to me [in the dugout] and said, ‘Dude, something felt something weird,’ like something he hadn’t felt before. He said it felt numb.”

Davidson was having an MRI done after the game and was unavailable for comment. He is the third snakebitten Sox prospect to get called up, following catcher Kevan Smith who was in the starting lineup in Toronto on April 25 but hurt his back during the team’s pregame stretch and Coats, who made his debut in left field in Detroit on June 4 but left the game after colliding with center fielder Shuck as he was making a running catch. Coats needed stitches in his mouth and was checked for a concussion.

“It’s crazy,’’ Ventura said.

A career .249 hitter with 133 home runs and 549 RBI in 937 games over eight minor-league seasons, Davidson – who appeared in 31 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013 – was on the right track after hitting for power but batting .199 and .203 at Charlotte after the Sox acquired him in a trade for closer Addison Reed on Dec. 16, 2013.

At Charlotte this season he produced a .268/.349/.444 slash line with 10 homers, 20 doubles and 46 RBI and was selected Wednesday to play in the International League All-Star Game.

He batted .413 and hit five home runs in spring training Sox are short a bat in their lineup without outfielder Melky Cabrera, who is out for a few games with a sore right wrist. The Sox will call up another player on Friday before they open a three-game series in Houston, possibly infielder Carlos Sanchez.

“It’s good to get here and not have to wait around and wonder when you’re going to get in,” Davidson said before the game. “I’m glad to be in there today.”

Davidson, 25, was viewed as the third baseman of the future when the Sox acquired him, but his offensive struggle set him back.

“The past couple years I haven’t really had a good reason to be impatient [waiting for an opportunity in the majors with the Sox],” he said. “I’ve struggled, so I kind of knew I wasn’t getting called up. You’ve got to take it day by day, one step at a time and focus on what you need to do to get here.”

“In spring training he just had a better feel,” Ventura said. “He was more confident, understood his swing better. Having gone through what he did last year has helped him for this year. And it earned him a spot up here.’’