Royals place Jesse Hahn on injured list; Hunter Dozier held out of lineup

The Kansas City Royals placed right-handed relief pitcher Jesse Hahn on the injured list on Monday, one day after he gave up a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox.

Hahn, 31, has right shoulder impingement syndrome, according to the Royals. They recalled right-hander Jake Newberry from the alternate training site to take Hahn’s spot on the active roster.

Hahn faced three batters on Sunday and gave up a two-run home run and a pair of walks before giving way to Greg Holland. He did not record an out.

The pinch-hit home run Hahn allowed by White Sox veteran Adam Eaton gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead, but the Royals rallied to tie the score on Carlos Santana’s solo homer in the top of the ninth. They went on to score in the 10th to earn a 4-3 win and a series split.

“Didn’t know anything about it until after the game,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “He said he felt it when he was in the pen.”

Hahn gave up a two-run home run in a one-run game last week in Cleveland to Jose Ramirez. That home run came after the Royals were unable to turn a double play on either of two ground balls.

With the inning extended long enough for Ramirez to bat with a runner on, Ramirez delivered a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning. Ramirez hit another two-run homer off Holland in the eighth inning with the score tied to provide the margin of victory for the Cleveland Indians.

Matheny reiterated that he and the coaching staff have a lot of confidence in Hahn as a key figure in their bullpen.

This season in five appearances (3 1/3 innings), Hahn has given up five runs on five hits. Four of those runs came in his two most-recent outings.

Last season, Hahn posted a 0.52 ERA in 18 appearances and opponent’s batted .071 against him.

“For us to be as good as we’re going to be this year, we’re going to need him,” Matheny said. “Hopefully, we can get ahead of this impingement.”

Dozier sits

Matheny pinch-hit for starting third baseman Hunter Dozier in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game. Matheny said the right thumb injury that kept Dozier out of the lineup for three games after the season opener was giving him trouble again.

Dozier was not in the starting lineup for Monday night’s home game against the Los Angeles Angels. Instead, Hanser Alberto stepped in to start at third base.

Last week when he returned to the lineup, Dozier said during a pregame video conference call with reporters that he still had some lingering soreness in his hand. But with the swelling having gone down, he was anxious to play. He played with a wrap around his thumb.

“We had a couple long talks yesterday,” Matheny said. “He feels good. It’s just something that keeps flaring up a little bit, but it seems to be gone by the next time he gets up to bat. It’s going to be some time when it does flare and we’re going to have to give it a little bit more of a rest. But the trainers are very confident this is something we can get ahead of.”