Eloy Jiménez said Thursday he was feeling better after exiting Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Chicago White Sox left fielder fouled a pitch off his left ankle during a third-inning at-bat but remained in the game until Leury García hit for him in the fifth.
“Last night I couldn’t even walk good,” Jiménez said Thursday morning. “It hurt a little bit. But (with) all the treatment … this morning I feel fine.
“When I woke up this morning and I saw I was able to walk, I was happy about it.”
Jiménez is day to day with a bruised left ankle. He was not in the starting lineup for Thursday’s series finale against the Seattle Mariners but said he’d be available to pinch hit.
“It’s bruised, sore, but you don’t want to run on it because you might do something,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “So hopefully he’s OK for (Friday).”
Jiménez said being out of the lineup was “just for precaution. But after that, it’s all good.”
La Russa left open the possibility of having Jiménez as the designated hitter when the Sox begin a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“That might be a way to do it,” La Russa said. “Here, again, he’s got to run as a DH, so I’m not going to push it.”
Jiménez noticed the difference a few hours — and treatment — could make.
“I think that helped me a lot because (Wednesday), when I was in the outfield I felt it really bad,” he said. “But after the treatment I feel better and this morning when I woke up, I feel better. When I did treatment again, I felt better.”
Jiménez wasn’t the only starter to leave Wednesday’s game early. Second baseman Josh Harrison, who made a number of good plays, left before the eighth inning with lower back stiffness.
“He’s got some soreness,” La Russa said. “Try to stay away from using him (Thursday), play him when it clears up. Should play some time this weekend.”
Jiménez and Harrison factored in the team’s four-run fourth in Wednesday’s 6-4 victory. Jiménez led off the inning with a 449-foot home run to left, his first of the season. Harrison scored on a two-run double by shortstop Tim Anderson.
Harrison has three runs in the first five games, while Jiménez entered Thursday leading the Sox with seven RBIs.
“Just put the ball in play,” Jiménez said of what’s working at the plate. “When I see men on base I feel good but I’m focused more on my at-bat. If I do good at the plate I know I can bring them in.”
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