Royals C Salvador Perez out of starting lineup again with groin injury

CHICAGO (AP) — Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez is out of the starting lineup for the second straight game because of a groin injury.

Manager Matt Quatraro said Perez is available off the bench for Tuesday night’s game at the Chicago White Sox.

“He came in early, got worked on … did his hitting and running,” Quatraro said. “Really we’re just trying to use discretion a little bit. Hopefully he feels better tomorrow.”

Perez, who turns 34 next month, had an MRI on Monday that showed a mild groin strain. He got hurt during Kansas City’s series finale at the New York Mets on Sunday.

Perez rested during Kansas City’s 2-0 victory at Chicago in the series opener. Freddy Fermin started at catcher and went 1 for 4.

“Because we’re playing the short and the long game, we’d love to have him in there tonight. He’s dying to be in there,” Quatraro said. “He’ll be available off the bench, but we thought this was the right thing to do.”

Perez is batting .339 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 16 games this season. He hit his 250th career homer on Saturday.

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