CLEVELAND -- Pedro Grifol immediately knew Yoán Moncada was in pain.

With one out in the second inning of Tuesday’s game between the White Sox and Guardians, Moncada crumbled while running down the first-base line, where he ended up landing in front of the base. By the time Grifol reached the field, Moncada was writhing on the ground, and Grifol knew that his third baseman’s season had changed.

“He was in some pain out there, I feel for him,” Grifol said. “He was in severe pain.”

While the White Sox rallied to beat the Guardians 7-5 after Moncada left, Grifol and his staff now have to plan out what the future looks like without Moncada. On Thursday, he was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left adductor strain, and the team announced that his estimated recovery time is three to six months. The White Sox recalled outfielder Oscar Colás from Triple-A Charlotte in a corresponding move.

Moncada declined to speak to the media postgame, citing a desire to wait to speak until his test results came back. He was limping through the White Sox clubhouse postgame in clear pain.

Prior to the game, Grifol said that Moncada was nursing a hip/adductor injury, but he said postgame that he wasn’t sure that Moncada’s in-game injury was related.

“I don't know if it's the same thing,” Grifol said. "I've got to talk to [head athletic 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 pain.”

Moncada’s injury is another setback for the snake-bitten White Sox, who have now lost three cornerstone players (Moncada, Luis Robert Jr. and Eloy Jimenez) to injury in the first two weeks of the season. Jimenez could return from his left adductor strain sometime in the next week, but Robert seems destined for a long IL stint with a right hip flexor strain. And now Moncada joins him after missing 92 games in 2023 with a back injury.

“It sucks,” outfielder Dominic Fletcher said of Moncada’s injury. “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.”

Fletcher stepped up Tuesday night by recording the go-ahead hit in the eighth inning to put the White Sox ahead to stay.

After Korey Lee and Andrew Benintendi opened the inning by getting on base, Fletcher put together a strong at-bat against Guardians reliever Scott Barlow that ended with him plugging the right-field gap with a line drive.

“It’s been a tough stretch,” Fletcher said. “We’ve been close; It felt [good] to get one and try to get something going here. I was looking for something over the middle and trying to hit something hard on a line.”

The Sox recorded five runs in the first inning off Guardians starter Logan Allen, but let them back in the game after only recording three hits from the second to the eighth inning. The Guardians chipped away against starter Michael Soroka before recording the tying run off reliever Tim Hill.

The victory was secured by Michael Kopech, who continued his strong start to the season by nailing down a two-inning save that removed any doubt about who the Sox closer is.

Twenty-three of the 24 pitches Kopech threw were fastballs, and he topped out at 102 mph. He became the third pitcher this year to throw 102+ mph in a game, and his seven pitches of 101+ mph is tied with Mason Miller for the most in one outing this year.

“It was fun,” Kopech said. “My velo is back to where I wanted it to be for a long time. Striking guys out is always fun. I like starting, but to be honest with you 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.”

Grifol agreed.

“He was 100 mph pounding the strike zone,” he said. “Electric. I love that type and style of baseball. Highly competitive situation. … He wasn't trying to trick anybody. It was just, ‘Here's what I've got.’”