CHICAGO — José Abreu slammed his helmet while he was on the ground near home plate.
The Chicago White Sox first baseman was in serious pain after being hit by a pitch.
Abreu exited after suffering a bruised left knee in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“Definitely never want to see that happen, especially pretty much the backbone of the team,” Sox pitcher Dallas Keuchel said. “We’re all hoping that it’s nothing major, but we’re already hampered enough as it is and we rode it thin today.”
X-rays were negative for a fracture and he is day to day, the Sox said.
JT Chargois hit Abreu on the left knee with the first pitch of the at-bat. The training staff immediately checked on Abreu, who had to be helped off the field.
It was another setback for a team that has been hit hard by injuries.
“We’re all hoping for the best for José,” Keuchel said. “For him to come out of the game means it was hurting. We’re hoping to pick him up but can’t really replace that.”
The Mariners won the completion of Saturday’s suspended game behind three home runs, two by center fielder Taylor Trammell. He gave the Mariners a 3-2 lead in the ninth with a solo home run off Liam Hendriks.
Abreu was out of the lineup for Sunday’s regularly scheduled game, which the Sox won 7-5.
Yermín Mercedes had two hits, two runs and three RBIs and Zack Collins knocked in four in the seven-inning game. Hendriks earned the save as the Sox won for just the second time in nine games.
And now they’ll await further word on Abreu.
“The guys were concerned about him. He got hit in a really tender spot,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “You’ve got to wait and see how it is 24 hours later.”
Outfielders Eloy Jiménez, Luis Robert, Adam Eaton, Adam Engel and Billy Hamilton and pitcher Michael Kopech are on the injured list for the Sox. Second baseman Nick Madrigal is out for the season with a torn right hamstring, and reliever Jimmy Cordero had Tommy John surgery in March.
Abreu missed the second game of a May 14 doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals after colliding with batter Hunter Dozier while running in to try to catch a popup near home plate. He also missed three games May 17-19 against the Minnesota Twins with left ankle inflammation, which he suffered while sliding to score the winning run May 16 against the Royals.
An inning before Abreu’s injury Sunday, Mariners pitcher Héctor Santiago was ejected after umpires took his glove when he left with two outs in the fifth. Santiago was stopped as part of Major League Baseball’s foreign substances inspections for every pitcher.
Sunday’s first game picked up in the bottom of the third.
Trammell homered in the fifth off Keuchel, who allowed two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk in five innings in what was technically his first relief appearance since Aug. 6, 2013, for the Houston Astros against the Boston Red Sox. Lance Lynn pitched the first three innings Saturday.
The first game ended with Mercedes hitting into a double play.
The Sox designated hitter started the scoring in the second game, knocking in two with a double to left in the first. He reached on an error and scored on a double by Collins in the third to give the Sox a 3-1 lead.
Mercedes slid headfirst into first base for an infield hit with the bases loaded in the fourth. Luis González scored, making it 4-1.
“There’s no question that his work, the process is working good and he’s taking it into the game,” La Russa said of Mercedes. “He looks more like he did early, right? It’d be a great time for him to get back to being himself. He was critical today. ... It’s exciting to see him have those kinds of at-bats.”
Collins followed with a three-run double.
The Sox didn’t allow a hit until a leadoff double in the sixth by Mitch Haniger off reliever Jimmy Lambert, who served as the 27th man on the roster for the second game.
“It’s nice that they had no hits through five,” Collins said. “We all love that, but in a game like this, with the way we’ve been going, we’re just trying to get the ‘W.’ ”
Haniger hit a three-run home run in the seventh off Lambert, cutting the Sox lead to 7-5.
Hendriks entered and retired the final two batters to help the Sox salvage the finale of the three-game series and give them a 2 1/2-game lead in the American League Central over the Cleveland Indians.
“It’s hard to string a lot of wins together. It hasn’t been a fun stretch,” La Russa said. “Our hearts are good. We’re tough enough. Just got to keep improving, get better and better.”
