Alex Gordon sprains wrist in collision as Royals fall 3-2 to White Sox

Alex Gordon emerged from a back hallway with a black brace on his right wrist, the Royals' left fielder moving past a row of showers and pushing into an open clubhouse here on late Sundayafternoon. It was just before 4:30 p.m., nearly 30 minutes after the Royals’ 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, and Gordon was the last player to dress as the Royals packed up for a flight to Minneapolis.

Nearly 90 minutes earlier, Gordon had laid on his back in foul territory, his body slumped against a rolled-up tarp after a high-speed collision with third baseman Mike Moustakas.

As both players pursued a ball in foul territory, Gordon had his legs cut out from underneath him and slammed his head against the tarp while spinning to the ground. He left the game a half inning later, diagnosed with a right wrist sprain after jamming his throwing hand in the dirt.

On the whole, Gordon appeared to avoid serious injury. He passed a concussion test and was listed as day to day. Yet the scary collision — along with the missed opportunities in a one-run loss — marred an otherwise productive weekend on the south side of Chicago.

“I was just kind of stunned,” Gordon told The Star. “Obviously, I just got my legs taken out of me and just fell down. I was just trying to gather myself, really. I thought I caught the ball, and then I look up and it’s out of my glove.”

The Royals arrived in Chicago on Friday trailing the first-place White Sox by 4  1/3 games in the American League Central standings. They will head to Minnesota sitting at 22-21 on the season, 3  1/2 games back after taking two of three. During three days at U.S. Cellular Field, the Royals surrendered just five runs, their rotation stabilizing while their bullpen dominated. On Sunday, they could not produce enough offense to finish off the sweep.

White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon, facing the Royals for the first time, allowed just two earned runs in 6  2/3 innings. He bested Royals starter Yordano Ventura, who allowed three runs over six innings.

“You always want to win the series,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “That’s your No. 1 goal, and you put yourself in position to sweep them. But Rodon did a nice job today. We didn’t have a lot of missed opportunities that I’m lamenting right now.”

Ventura considered the performance a step in the right direction. In some ways, his outing was doomed by one mistake to White Sox left fielder Melky Cabrera, who ripped an 0-2 fastball for a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth.

The single, which broke a 1-1 deadlock, came with two outs and the bases loaded. It was the White Sox’s first hit of the series with runners in scoring position. Ventura was trying to throw a two-seam fastball low and away, he said. The ball stayed in the middle of the zone.

“It didn’t do what it was supposed to do,” said Royals catching coach Pedro Grifol, who translated for Ventura. “And he just missed the spot.”

In the moments after the game, Gordon headed to the trainers room to receive treatment on his ailing wrist — the same wrist he underwent surgery on before last season. Mike Moustakas moved around gingerly after taking his own hard fall. For three days, the Royals offense lacked much firepower, scoring just eight runs in the series. Yet the Royals could still feel good about their trip to Chicago.

During the next three weekends, the Royals will see the first-place White Sox seven more times. They took the first round, racking up five wins in seven games after falling to 17-19 following a loss to the Atlanta Braves last Saturday.

“We’re all used to how these seasons go,” said first baseman Eric Hosmer, who finished just 1 for 11 in the series. “When you get hot, you kind of just ride that streak as a team. We still feel we haven’t gotten hot as a team. We’ve still pulled off some wins. But we feel like we can swing it a little better and we can pitch it a little better.”

On Sunday, the Royals struck first in the top of the second, scoring a run on an RBI single from Paulo Orlando, who continued his torrid pace in May. Orlando is batting .484 this month, making an almost daily case for a more permanent role in right field.

The inning, though, could have resulted in more. The Royals nicked Rodon for four singles in the frame, but the hits were sandwiched around a double play from Gordon, which erased a base runner and limited the damage.

White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier leveled the score in the bottom of the fourth, popping an opposite-field homer just over the wall in right field. On a 1-2 pitch, Ventura delivered a 98 mph fastball. Frazier put a barrel on the ball and lofted a high drive that landed in a bar beyond the right-field fence.

One inning later, Ventura would make a similar mistake against Cabrera, leaving another fastball in the zone on an 0-2 pitch. The mistakes represented the only offense he would allow in six innings.

Ventura worked around a leadoff double in the sixth, thanks to terrific defensive play from Orlando. With a runner on third and two outs, Orlando bumped into the right field wall while chasing down a drive from the bat of Austin Jackson.

The Royals had sliced into the lead in the top of the sixth, manufacturing a run on two hits and a sacrifice fly from Omar Infante. The key hit in the inning belonged to — yes — Orlando, who doubled down the right field line after a one-out single from Gordon.

One inning later, a foul ball was sliced toward the tarp in left field and Gordon and Moustakas gave chase. They met near the corner of the tarp, their legs tangling as both players went careening to the ground.

For a moment, after his head snapped back, Gordon appeared to lose consciousness. In truth, he said, he was just collecting himself.

“My neck is sore,” Gordon said. “But I knew I took a pretty nasty fall. That’s why I was kind of taking it slow. I just got up, gathered myself and was good to go.”

For Gordon, the start of the 2016 season has not been a pleasant ride. Nearly six months after signing a four-year, $72 million deal to remain in Kansas City, he is batting just .211 with four homers in 42 games. On Sunday, he finished 1 for 3.

His production has waned and his team’s offense has suffered. But as Gordon prepared for the second half of a six-game road trip, he looked down at his sore right wrist. He was hopeful, he said, that it would feel much better in the morning.

“It’s kind of sore,” Gordon said. “But we’ll see how it responds. We’ll see how it feels, and hopefully it’s nothing.”

White Sox 3, Royals 2

a-struck out for Gordon in the 8th. b-struck out for Butera in the 9th.

LOB: Kansas City 7, Chicago 7. 2B: Orlando (4), Cabrera (9), Lawrie (13). HR: Frazier (13), off Ventura. RBIs: Orlando (8), Infante (6), Frazier (33), Cabrera 2 (17). SB: Eaton (5). SF: Infante. S: Sanchez.

Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 4 (Hosmer, Perez, Butera 2); Chicago 4 (Cabrera, Sands, Sanchez, Jackson). RISP: Kansas City 1 for 7; Chicago 1 for 11.

Runners moved up: Gordon, Rollins. GIDP: Gordon, Cabrera.

DP: Kansas City 1 (Infante, Escobar, Hosmer); Chicago 1 (Lawrie, Sanchez, Sands).

Umpires: Home, Scott Barry; First, Jerry Layne; Second, Hunter Wendelstedt; Third, Gabe Morales.

Holds: Albers (8), Duke (10), Jones (10). Time: 2:46. Att: 34,526 (40,615).

This story was originally published May 22, 2016 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Alex Gordon sprains wrist in collision as Royals fall 3-2 to White Sox."