KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Toronto slugger Edwin Encarnacion returned to the Blue Jays’ lineup Saturday afternoon after being pulled from the opening game of the American League Championship Series due to a flareup of a recurring finger injury.
The designated hitter suffered a left middle finger ligament sprain in Friday’s 5-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals and was replaced by Justin Smoak in the eighth inning. X-rays were negative and an MRI exam was performed Saturday morning.
“He’s a huge part of our lineup,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said during a pre-game availability.
“He’s battled this on and off. A day off might do him some good, but we need him so he’s in there. He’ll battle through it.”
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Toronto sends David Price to the mound against Kansas City starter Yordano Ventura in Game 2 at Kauffman Stadium. The series will shift to Toronto for Game 3 on Monday.
Encarnacion was in his usual cleanup position in the batting order. Canadian catcher Russell Martin was in the No. 7 spot with Dioner Navarro returning to the bench after catching right-hander Marco Estrada in the series opener.
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Encarnacion batted .333 and had a .478 on-base percentage during the five-game AL Division Series against the Texas Rangers. He was 0-for-3 at the plate in Game 1 against the Royals.
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“Edwin is a big part of our team,” said Blue Jays centre-fielder Kevin Pillar. “Any time he’s in the lineup we’re a better team. And it’s something he’s dealt with throughout the year. He probably wouldn’t be playing if it wasn’t a post-season game.
“But Edwin is extremely passionate and wants to win, and he’s going to do whatever it takes to get ready to play today.”
The 32-year-old slugger played through the pain at times this year and still posted a .277 average with 39 homers and 111 RBIs in 146 games.
“It’s nothing more than he’s been dealing with,” Gibbons said. “A normal game he’d probably have the day off I would think, but not today.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how Encarnacion re-injured the finger. He received treatment after Game 1 and was not available to speak with reporters.
“I don’t know exactly when it grabs him,” Gibbons said. “But you always know when he releases that one hand and it turns into a one-handed swing … it’s probably irritated pretty good and every now and then that one swing just aggravates it even more, really.
“It could be just one of those things where he needs an off-season to really calm it down I would think.”
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