Royals' Infante leaves game with oblique strain

Less than 24 hours after enjoying one of the finest games of his career, Kansas City Royals second baseman Omar Infante was lifted from his club's series opener against the Detroit Tigers due to a left oblique strain Friday evening.

Infante - who went 0-for-2 with a strikeout before being replaced at second base by Ben Zobrist in the bottom of the fifth - will be re-evaluated Saturday.

On Thursday, in his first start since Sept. 6, Infante went 3-for-4 with a home run while driving in a career-high seven runs in an 8-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Despite his impressive performance Thursday, the 33-year-old has struggled this season, managing career-lows in batting average (.221), on-base percentage (.235), slugging percentage (.320), and WAR (-0.8) through 123 games.