Royals say Kendrys Morales is day-to-day with bruised foot

Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer jogged 90 feet down the right-field line, firmly planting his cleat on the bag as the tying run in the eighth inning Monday. His single followed Alcides Escobar’s leadoff hit and brought up Kendrys Morales, the team’s second-leading RBI hitter this season.

Except Morales never made it to the plate.

Morales was removed from the game Monday after fouling a ball off his right foot in the fifth inning. The X-rays on his foot were negative, the team said.

He was diagnosed with a bruise and is classified as day-to-day.

The Plan B worked out for the Royals in a 7-2 win Monday — or was it Plan C? Christian Colon was offered the opportunity to hit in Morales’ place, though the initial intention was to bunt.

After showing bunt against the first two pitches he saw, Colon swung away on a 2-0 count and drilled a two-run, game-tying double into the left centerfield gap, the spark in a seven-run eighth inning.

The rally came without Morales, who had a painful evening. He was hit by a Corey Kluber pitch in the third inning before the injury occurred two innings later.

With two runners on base and two outs in the fifth, Morales spiked a ground ball off the laces of his right shoe before the ball dribbled toward the right side of the infield. He winced in pain but finished the at-bat, which resulted in a strikeout. Royals manager Ned Yost said Morales complained of soreness in his foot, prompting his departure.

Morales has occupied the No. 3 spot in the Royals’ lineup since the All-Star break. After a slow start, he is batting .256 with 15 home runs and 47 RBI this season.

The Royals are already without two middle-of-the-order bat with the injuries to third baseman Mike Moustakas (knee) and outfielder Lorenzo Cain (hamstring).

This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Royals say Kendrys Morales is day-to-day with bruised foot."