Struggling shortstop Alexei Ramirez was held out of the White Sox lineup Thursday as he experienced soreness after hitting a foul ball off his left foot Wednesday night.
Ramirez, who’s hitting a career low .229 with a .554 OPS — second-worst among qualified MLB hitters, only behind Kansas City’s Omar Infante — had an X-Ray on his foot before the game, which came back negative. Ventura didn’t seem to indicate Ramirez’s injury was serious, though. Gordon Beckham, who entered Thursday hitting .199, earned his third start of the season at shortstop in place of Ramirez and made a few big plays in the field to support Jeff Samardzija's four-hit shutout of Toronto.
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“It's enough for him not to play today,” Ventura said. “He's not moving around all that great. He could hopefully later, get some treatment and fill in late."
After Thursday's game, Ramirez said he hopes to be back in the White Sox lineup for Friday's Crosstown opener against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
"I feel much better than last night," Ramirez said through a translator. "During the game last night, I didn’t feel anything because I was warm. When I arrived to my house, it was swollen. We decided not to play today just to take a rest and be able to play tomorrow."