White Sox 3B Yoan Moncada leaves game with adductor strain

CLEVELAND — Just when it seemed like things couldn’t get worse for the White Sox, third baseman Yoan Moncada went down in a heap running out a ground ball at Progressive Field Tuesday.

Moncada suffered a left adductor strain and was assisted off the field, likely headed to the injury list alongside All-Star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. and designated hitter Eloy Jimenez.

Moncada, who singled and scored in a five-run first inning that sparked the Sox (2-9) to a 7-5 victory snapping a five-game losing streak, will be further evaluated Wednesday.

Moncada has been dealing with discomfort in the hip and adductor area in recent days, he and manager Pedro Grifol revealed before the game but was moving full speed. He stole second base in Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Guardians and was in full sprint before getting hurt.

“He’s had a little nagging hip, adductor type but he’s doing a really good job maintaining, and he’s doing OK with it,” Grifol said before the game.

After the game, Grifol said he didn’t know if the injury was related to the soreness in recent days.

“I don’t know if it’s the same thing,’ Grifol said. “I’ve got to talk to [trainer] James [Kruk] about that. I don’t think it is, I’m not really sure. I know when I got out there he was in some severe pain.”

Before the game Moncada said he was “good to go.”

Walking slowly and conferring with teammates at his locker after the game, he was not. He said he would talk about it Thursday.

“Won’t know [the severity] exactly till how he wakes up and sees the docs when we get the scans in,” Grifol said.

Remarkably, Moncada, Robert Jr. (Grade 2 hip flexor strain) and Jimenez (adductor strain) were all hurt running out ground balls, a stinging triple-pronged reminder of the Sox lineup core’s injury histories.

“It sucks,” said Dominic Fletcher, whose two-run double broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth. “You hate to see guys go down, with Eloy and Robert as well, that’s a lot of good hitters who are missing. Guys have to step up and play hard.”

Sox get second win

Against left-hander Logan Allen, Moncada, Lenyn Sosa — batting third in Grifol’s shaken up lineup — and Andrew Vaughn singled in succession to drive in runs and center fielder Kevin Pillar doubled in two for a 5-0 first-inning lead.

The Guardians (8-3) chipped away against Sox starter Michael Soroka and Tim Hill to tie it, but Steven Wilson, Jordan Leasure and Michael Kopech pitched scoreless relief.

Kopech heating up

Firming his grip on the closer role, Kopech touched 102 mph, averaging 100.4 mph throwing 23 fastballs to go with one slider, struck out the side in the eighth and struck out one in the ninth to complete a second perfect inning and record his second save.

“My velo is back to where I wanted it to be for a long time,” said Kopech, who strugged as a starter last year and was moved to the bullpen midway through spring training. “Striking guys out is always fun.

“I like starting. But I like competitive baseball and being in a really competitive position and to close the door, there’s not a bigger moment in a game for a pitcher. So it’s a lot of fun.”

“He’s an animal,” Soroka said. “When he’s clicking and he’s ripping it, I don’t know if there are too many fastballs like it in the world.”