CLEVELAND — Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is back in the lineup for Tuesday’s game against Cleveland after missing three games with back issues.
Witt left Friday’s game against Minnesota in the seventh inning due to lower back spasms. He had made two defensive plays on ground balls in the top half of the sixth inning, then exited before the Royals took the field in the seventh.
Manager Matt Quatraro said Witt ran and did some fielding before Monday’s game in Cleveland game without any issues.
Witt, 25, has played in 139 of the Royals’ 144 games this season. He’s hitting .294 with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs and will bat second against the Guardians.
Also Tuesday, the Royals activated second baseman Jonathan India from the 10-day injured list. India, 28, had been sidelined since Aug. 29 with a left wrist sprain. Before the injury, he was batting .232 with eight homers and 41 RBIs. Against Cleveland, India was the designated hitter, batting seventh.
The Royals placed right-handed pitcher Michael Wacha on the seven-day injured list, retroactive to Monday, due to a concussion. The team did not release any other information about Wacha’s injury. The 34-year-old right-hander is 9-11 with a 3.45 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 159 innings.
Kansas City and Cleveland are in a tight race for a postseason berth. With Monday’s 10-2 win, the Guardians (73-70) moved past the Royals (73-71) into second place in the AL Central.