Stewart tests quad, then goes on injured list

DETROIT -- The tarp was on the field at Comerica Park on Thursday morning to keep the infield playable for the Tigers’ series opener against the White Sox. Christin Stewart was in the outfield, testing out his right quad to get an idea of when he might be ready to go.

Clearly, the results were not encouraging. Before the Tigers' 9-7 win over the White Sox, Detroit placed Stewart on the 10-day injured list with a right quad strain, after earlier classifying the injury as a spasm. Outfielder Brandon Dixon was recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take his place.

An MRI exam showed what manager Ron Gardenhire described as a bruise on the top of Stewart's quad, but no structural damage.

Stewart suffered the injury in Wednesday night’s rainy 3-2 loss to the Pirates. Though he slipped and fell in left field on Josh Bell’s game-tying sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, Stewart told Gardenhire he felt the injury running out his own fly ball in the bottom of the inning.

Stewart’s absence, however long it is, presents a big loss for a Tigers offense that has struggled to produce runs since the season began three weeks ago. He is the lone Tiger in double digits in RBIs, and he has three of Detroit’s seven home runs entering Thursday. Stewart has become a power threat in the middle of the Tigers' order with Nicholas Castellanos and Miguel Cabrera batting second and third, respectively.

Dixon, claimed off waivers from the Reds last November, made an impression in Spring Training before being optioned. He got off to a slow start for the Mud Hens, batting 8-for-46 with one home run, three RBIs, no walks and 16 strikeouts.

Jimenez to get situational work

Lost amidst the Tigers’ offensive struggles and Stewart’s injury Wednesday were the struggles of Joe Jiménez, who loaded the bases with nobody out in the eighth as part of the Pirates’ game-tying rally. It has not been lost on Gardenhire, who said he’ll try to find lower-leverage situations for his All-Star setup man as he tries to find his better form.

Jimenez entered Wednesday’s game with a 2-1 lead to begin the eighth inning, then yielded an Erik Gonzalez single, walked Adam Frazier and hit Starling Marte. All three batters were in two-strike counts, including an 0-2 count on Marte when Jimenez lost a fastball up and in.

“He was misfiring pretty good,” Gardenhire said.

It was Jimenez’s first outing in a week after he walked three consecutive Cleveland batters with two outs in the eighth and a 4-1 lead. The 24-year-old has walked six batters and hit two others in eight appearances this season, covering 6 2/3 innings. While his fastball velocity is slightly down from last year, the bigger concern is that his strike percentages are down on all of his pitches, according to Statcast.

Jimenez sat down for a “really long talk” with pitching coach Rick Anderson on Thursday morning, Gardenhire said. At this point, though, Gardenhire said he believes it’s a matter of confidence rather than anything physical.

“He’s a little frustrated right now. We haven’t seen that from him in a while,” Gardenhire said. “We’ll try to set up a better situation for him next time out, let him get in there where he can relax a little bit instead of the high-leverage situations.”

McCann returns to Comerica Park

This wasn’t the way James McCann envisioned himself returning to Comerica Park, wearing a White Sox uniform instead of Tigers gear. But after being non-tendered last fall, the former Detroit catcher said things have worked out for the best.

“It’s not the way you draw it up. It’s not the way you foresee things happening,” said McCann, who signed a one-year deal with the White Sox last December. “But it’s a business, and the business side obviously trumped everything. I think the hardest part was just the unknown for two months in the offseason.”

The situation has worked out well for McCann, who splits catching duties in Chicago with Welington Castillo while handling a talented young pitching staff.

McCann's impact over four-plus seasons as a Tiger is not forgotten. Among those making the walk to the visiting clubhouse to say hello was Hall of Famer Al Kaline.