TORONTO—The Toronto Blue Jays’ lineup was missing some serious pop for the start of their four-game series with the Detroit Tigers on Monday.
Both Adam Lind (back) and Edwin Encarnacion (left hamstring) weren’t in the starting nine.
Lind is day-to-day after injuring his back during Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Encarnacion was initially in the Blue Jays starting lineup Monday batting third at DH, but he was a last-minute scratch in favour of J.P. Arencibia.
Josh Thole got the start behind the plate with R.A. Dickey on the mound.
During his pre-game scrum with reporters, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Encarnacion was playing through hamstring discomfort and a sore left wrist. He added the wrist injury hasn’t been affecting Encarnacion’s swing, but it has been making it difficult for him to play first base.
In their absence, Mark DeRosa got the start Monday at first base, one day after he was sidelined with a sore neck.
Prior to Monday’s game, Lind told a group of reporters around his locker he hopes to return to the lineup no later than Wednesday.
Lind left Sunday’s game after feeling his back tighten up while chasing a Ryan Lavarnway double down the right field line. He said he woke up Sunday to some back tightness, but said it went away following swings during pre-game batting practice.
“Then, when I ran after that double down the line, it just hit me,” he said.
Lind is no stranger to back pain. The 29-year-old has missed significant time in recent years with lower back pain, but on Sunday the issue was more towards the middle.
The combination of pain in a new area of his back and a four-inning wait in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse before being seen by a physician, left Lind wondering how long this new injury might sideline him for.
“I was pretty shook up,” he acknowledged. “I’m just laying there on my back thinking about a lot of stuff.”
The diagnosis later came in as a muscle strain, and when Lind woke up Monday, he knew it wasn’t as bad as he initially feared.
“I feel better (this morning),” he said. “I can take deep breaths. I’m in a little better mental situation than I was yesterday. I was pretty rattled and shook up.
“My primary goal this year was not to go on the DL, so I’m hoping to avoid that for myself and to show the organization that I can be on the active roster for the whole season,” said Lind.