Tigers' Torres exits with bruised neck, could play Sunday

CLEVELAND -- Detroit Tigers All-Star second baseman Gleyber Torres left Saturday's game against the Cleveland Guardians in the middle of the first inning after he took an elbow to the neck while sliding into second base.

Manager A.J. Hinch said after the 1-0 victory against the Guardians that Torres could be available for Sunday afternoon's series finale.

"Torres took an elbow in the neck and just felt a little off. In the third or fourth inning, they (the training staff) gave me the notice that everything was fine," Hinch said. "He was just a little scared because it was an awkward collision."

Torres got on base after drawing a walk with one out. On Riley Greene's ground ball, Cleveland second baseman Johnathan Rodriguez flipped the ball out of his glove to Brayan Rocchio. The shortstop though was drawn off the bag as Torres slid short of second base and was belted by Rocchio's glove and elbow as he fell.

Torres was on the ground and examined by trainers for a couple minutes before coming out of the game. Javier Baez moved from shortstop to second base while Trey Sweeney came in to play shortstop.

Torres is batting .279 and has an on-base streak of 18 games. He was one of the three Detroit players voted as an AL starter for the July 15 All-Star Game in Atlanta, along with outfielders Riley Greene and Baez.