Jose Abreu day-to-day with mild hip-flexor strain

Jose Abreu. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Jose Abreu is day-to-day with a mild right hip flexor strain after the first baseman injured himself trying to make a play on a ground ball in the fifth inning of the White Sox’ 5-2 win over the Royals on Wednesday.

Abreu did a split with his back to home plate trying to plant his right foot on the infield grass after Cheslor Cuthbert’s ground ball went off his glove. He was charged with his fourth error, then walked off alongside trainer Herm Schneider with a slight limp. The Sox are off Thursday and Abreu will be re-evaluated Friday when the team opens a 10-game road trip in Detroit.

Abreu, who doubled in his two at-bats against right-hander Nate Karns, is in the midst of his best hitting groove of the season with five multihit games in his last seven to raise his average to .253. He is still looking for his first homer.

The Abreu error led to the Royals’ first run, which was unearned, against lefty Jose Quintana.

Todd Frazier moved from third base to first, Tyler Saladino from second to third and Yolmer Sanchez came into the game at second.

Abreu, who described it as a groin issue, tried to talk manager Rick Renteria into letting him stay in the game.

“I got treatment and I feel good right now,’’ he said through translator Billy Russo. “The day off is going to help and I hope to be ready for the first game in Detroit.’’

Shields update

James Shields, on the 10-day disabled (retroactive to April 18) with a right lat strain, was “very encouraged” with progress made in the last day or so.

“It has kind of subsided a little bit,’’ said Shields, who hopes to resume throwing this weekend. “We’re going to ramp it up in the next couple of days and see how it feels.’’

Going on the DL for the first time in his career was a tough pill to swallow for Shields. He took a lot of pride in always being available.

“I still take pride in that,’’ Shields said. “I’ve always been a believer in doing as much as you can within your realm of posting every five days. Being on the DL is a new thing and it’s not fun. I want to get back on the field as quickly as possible.’’

Farm show

Comcast Sports Net will broadcast eight Charlotte Knights games, giving fans a chance to see promising young talent like Yoan Moncada, the No. 1 rated prospect according to MLBPipeline.com. The first live telecast is May 3. It’s the first time CSN will do an entire Class AAA series.

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Email: dvanschouwen@suntimes.com