For a second American League Wild Card game against the A’s and fifth consecutive game overall, the White Sox were without Eloy Jiménez in their starting lineup.

The power-packed left fielder suffered a right mid-foot sprain while scoring a run Thursday night in Cleveland. Jiménez has tested the injury over the past three days but still is not healthy enough for anything beyond pinch-hitting.

“He’s still about the same,” said White Sox manager Rick Renteria on Wednesday. “The usage for him is about the same. Maybe a pinch-hit at-bat.

“They are still treating him up, trying to see if they can continue to calm down the soreness in that foot. Hopefully, it continues to improve a little bit.”

When asked why Jiménez can be used as a pinch-hitter but not a designated hitter, Renteria responded, “You need to be able to run.”

The White Sox have outfielders Jarrod Dyson and Nomar Mazara on the bench, so the playoff roster isn’t hampered without Jiménez on defense.

Basically, it’s the next man up for the White Sox until he recovers.

“It's what it's got to be,” White Sox catcher James McCann said. “Especially at this point in the season, you've got guys that are going to be dealing with injuries and you have to have the depth.

“Obviously, we'd love to have Eloy in there. His bat is in the middle of our order all season long. But at the same time, you can't dwell on it. You've got to find a way to go out there and win, no matter who's in the lineup.”

Garcia works his way to the playoffs
Leury García tore a ligament in his left thumb sliding head-first into first base in a game on Aug. 10 in Detroit and thought his season might be over.

“Once I got out of surgery, I was like, ‘Man it’s going to take a few weeks, maybe two months,’” García said. “But I put a lot of work in, and then my mind was to just get ready for the playoffs. Those guys made the playoffs, they worked hard.”

García worked diligently at the team’s Spring Training home in Glendale, Ariz., and the team’s alternate training facility in Schaumburg, Ill., then returned to the starting lineup for each of the first two playoff games. The 29-year-old is the longest-tenured player on the current roster by White Sox big league service time, coming over in a trade from Texas on Aug. 11, 2013, so he’s already enjoying the postseason experience.

“That was one of the best things to happen to me, especially on this team that I’ve been with the last couple of years,” García said. “I was so happy. Happy to be back with the team and all those guys, and at the same time, I feel so glad to be here.”

Third to first
• Renteria went with Edwin Encarnación at designated hitter against right-hander Chris Bassitt on Wednesday, despite the veteran’s .157/.250/.377 slash line over 181 plate appearances in 2020.

“We are going to take the veteran right now who has been in this dance before, and maybe we can draw on that,” Renteria said.

• McCann admitted Lucas Giolito throwing a perfect game crossed his mind at some point during Tuesday's 4-1 victory over the A's in Game 1.

“It was like the fifth inning, and I looked up, and there were no hits, and I don't think he's walked anybody, either,” McCann said. “But honestly, I think had we gone through the seventh, it probably would have crossed my mind more. It being a playoff game and just everything, knowing their lineup, it didn't really cross my mind the same way it crossed my mind the day we were playing the Pirates.”

Giolito retired the first 18 A’s batters faced.

• Tim Anderson joined Rudy Law (1983), Ted Kluszewski and Jim Landis (1959) and Shano Collins (1917) as the only players in White Sox history to record at least three hits in his postseason debut.

They said it
“Unbelievable. Oh, man. This guy, oh my god. [José Abreu], he works for it. Abreu is one of those guys, he’s always working, always trying to find a way to get better. You can see this year, he was like from Day One to here, the work done, you can see the results. He’s a man.” -- García

“I wouldn't say surprising, no. We have a good team. Our record speaks for that across the 60-game season and had we had the week that we had to finish the year the first week and finished on the 23-5 record, no one would really be talking about it.” -- McCann, on the team’s stellar Game 1 effort after a 2-8 finish to the season