Wrist injury keeps Royals’ Lorenzo Cain out of lineup in finale vs. Yankees

At 12:48 a.m. Wednesday morning, after a baseball game that took more than five hours to complete, Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain emerged from the clubhouse training room and walked toward his locker. He pressed his thumb and index finger against his left wrist, a grimace spreading across his face as he applied pressure.

Cain confirmed after Tuesday night’s extra-inning loss to the New York Yankees that he is dealing with left wrist injury that initially flared up two weeks ago. He received a cortisone shot after the game, but a day later, the ailment kept him out of the Royals’ starting lineup for Wednesday’s series finale with the Yankees.

“I’ve just been battling through it so far,” Cain said after Tuesday’s 5-4 defeat in 10 innings. “I feel like I need to be in that lineup no matter what. It’s something I’m probably going to have to deal with the rest of the year.”

Royals manager Ned Yost gave Paulo Orlando the start in right field Wednesday and kept Jarrod Dyson in center field.

Cain was 1 for 4 with a walk and two strikeouts on Tuesday. He struck out in the bottom of the 10th inning with the tying run on third base.

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“It’s been sore for two weeks. He’s been battling through it,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “And with the off day tomorrow, we felt like let’s just go ahead and see if we can’t get him a day today and a day tomorrow (and) get some of that inflammation out of that.”

The injury hasn’t halted the production from Cain, who is batting .294 during August. But he said the pain most frequently pops up when he’s at the plate.

“Swinging really gets me,” Cain said. “It’s tough right now, but I’m getting through it.”

Cain is batting .287 with a .336 on-base percentage in 102 games this season. He missed close to a month after suffering a hamstring strain in late June. The Royals have won 18 of their past 23 games, a streak that coincided with his return to the lineup.

“I’ll try to play as much as I can right now,” Cain said. “It’s bothering me a little bit. But I’m trying to get through it.”

This story was originally published August 31, 2016 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Wrist injury keeps Royals’ Lorenzo Cain out of lineup in finale vs. Yankees."