Abreu injury overshadows Game 1 loss

Not only did the White Sox lose their six-game winning streak in Game 1 of Friday’s split doubleheader against the Royals, but they lost star first baseman José Abreu, too.

In the second inning of Chicago’s 6-2 loss in Game 1, Abreu and Kansas City third baseman Hunter Dozier collided on the first-base line. Dozier had just hit a popup only a few feet down the line that White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal immediately got under. Dozier maneuvered around Grandal but put his head down as he did so, not seeing Abreu running toward the play.

"I guarantee you Dozier didn't see [Abreu], or he would’ve tried to avoid him,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “Just a bad break for both of them."

As Dozier took off for first, he and Abreu -- who had his eyes on the ball and didn’t see Dozier, either -- collided in a scene that hushed the Guaranteed Rate Field crowd and stopped play for a few minutes. Abreu and Dozier stayed down as their teams’ training staffs ran to check on the players, and both were helped off the field. Abreu left the game with what the team said was a facial contusion and laceration as well as a bruised left knee.

“It was extremely scary in the moment,” Chicago starter Lucas Giolito said. “That was a big collision, and to see [Abreu] go down like that, he doesn't really ever do that. He's taken some hits and just gets right back up. After a minute he did get up, and he said he was fine, he could keep playing. But that's the type of player he is. He'll do anything for this team, and we're just glad that the prognosis is totally cool. So it was a huge relief, going in, seeing he's good, in high spirits -- for me and the rest of the team. He'll probably be back playing tomorrow, honestly.”

The good news for the White Sox? Abreu, who plated the first run of the game with a sac fly, is considered day to day and the initial assessment for a concussion came back negative. The bad news? Things on the field went from bad to worse after the collision.

Once play resumed, Giolito immediately gave up a go-ahead, two-run home run to Kansas City center fielder Michael A. Taylor. The next inning, after allowing a walk and a single, Royals designated hitter Salvador Perez snuck one over the right-field wall for a three-run shot to extend Kansas City’s lead to four.

The White Sox could only get one run back on a sacrifice fly from left fielder Andrew Vaughn in the fourth inning, suffering their first loss in over a week.