CLEVELAND -- José Ramírez was out of the Guardians’ starting lineup vs. the Cardinals on Friday with a right wrist contusion, an issue that forced him to exit early from Thursday’s 6-0 loss to the Blue Jays.
Ramírez was hit on the wrist by Toronto starter Kevin Gausman in the bottom of the fourth inning. He was removed from the game in the fifth due to the issue and underwent X-rays, which came back negative.
Ramírez is day to day, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Friday.
"José's obviously very sore today,” Vogt said. “Thankfully, negative on the X-rays. Sore today, so he won't be in the lineup today."
While Blue Jays manager John Schneider and Gausman each said the hit-by-pitch was not intentional, it drew ire of the Guardians. It came one inning after starter Tanner Bibee hit Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the right wrist. Vogt went out on the field between the bottom of the fourth and top of the fifth to yell at the Blue Jays’ dugout, before he was corralled by home-plate umpire Tom Hanahan.
"We knew they were gonna hit Hosey,” Vogt said on Thursday. “We knew it was coming, which is part of the game. All I said was, ‘Hit him in the hip.’ [I] played this game a long time, been around this game a long time. [If] you're gonna hit somebody on purpose, you hit them in the hip, not the arm.”
Guerrero also exited Thursday’s contest early with a right wrist contusion, but he was back in the Blue Jays’ lineup on Friday for their game in Boston.
As for Ramírez, the Guardians hope it’s not a long-term issue.
"We’re hoping that he could be back in there [Saturday],” Vogt said. “But we have to see how he feels.”