White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. returns to starting lineup after finger injury

Updated Aug. 16, 2023 12:10 a.m. ET

Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. returned to the starting lineup on Tuesday night after being sidelined by a sprained right pinky finger.

Robert got hurt on a slide into third base during last week's 9-2 victory over the New York Yankees. He served as a pinch runner in the 10th inning of Friday night's 7-6 loss to Milwaukee, but Tuesday's game against the crosstown Cubs was his first start since the injury.

The All-Star slugger singled in the first inning and clubbed his team-high 32nd homer in the seventh, helping the White Sox to a 5-3 victory at Wrigley Field.

Robert said through a translator that he isn't 100 percent, but he thinks he can play.

“I said it before, my goal this year is to play as many games as I can,” Robert said before the win. “I won’t let any minor issues or soreness or stuff keep me out of the field. I’m going to do everything in my power to play every day and have a strong finish to the season. That’s my goal, to try to be able to finish this season strong and if I have to get extra treatment before the game to be able to play, I’ll do it because that’s my goal.”

While Robert was back in the lineup, the White Sox scratched shortstop Tim Anderson because of neck stiffness. Elvis Andrus moved from second base to shortstop, and Zach Remillard was inserted at second.

Anderson was suspended by Major League Baseball for six games for his role in a fight with Cleveland slugger José Ramírez, but he is appealing the punishment.

Manager Pedro Grifol said Anderson is day to day.

“He got better as the game went on, so we'll see how he feels tomorrow morning,” Grifol said.

The 26-year-old Robert has been a bright spot during a difficult season for the White Sox. He is batting .273 with 66 RBIs and 16 steals in 114 games.

“He’s been craving to get back in," Grifol said before the game. “It was just the right thing to do not to push this thing and all of a sudden turn it into a two-week stint as opposed to three, four days. He’s still going to go out there and he’s going to feel it a little bit, he won’t be 100 percent.”

The White Sox also announced Tuesday that they had agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Travis Swaggerty. The 25-year-old Swaggerty, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft, hit .195 in 22 minor league games this year before he was released by Pittsburgh last month.

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