Eloy Jiménez returned to the White Sox lineup on Wednesday, going 0-3 with a sac fly in their 4-0 win over Cleveland at Progressive Field.

And despite being sidelined two days after running into the Guaranteed Rate Field left-field wall chasing a Jake Cave grand slam in the first inning Sunday and feeling lightheaded in the next frame, his humor emerged completely intact.

In fact, the always engaging Jiménez raised his hand when White Sox interpreter Billy Russo asked if there were any questions at the start of his Wednesday Zoom. Jiménez went on to explain what happened in Sunday’s first inning against the Twins in his own unique way.

“I thought that ball was, like, easy. And I never see the wall,” Jiménez said. “When I got to the track, I was like, 'OK,' I was ready to jump. But the wall beat me.

“I’ve had two fights with the wall, and the wall beat me twice. Wall 2, Eloy zero.”

Jiménez ran into the wall last season while chasing a home run from Detroit’s Grayson Greiner and was out from April 27 to May 20 with a high right ankle sprain. The 23-year-old offensive force has no interest in moving into the designated hitter’s role, and needs to continue working defensively in left as he has previously with first-base coach Daryl Boston.

“I feel really comfortable,” Jiménez said. “It just happened. It was something I never expected. But I keep working and getting better.”

Foster arrives; Lambert to IL
Right-hander Jimmy Lambert had been one of the pleasant surprises through Summer Camp and the first week of the 2020 season, pitching two scoreless innings and striking out two. But Lambert’s work has come to a temporary halt, as the 25-year-old was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a right forearm strain. Lambert had Tommy John surgery last June.

“He's going to continue to get evaluated and we'll know more after the evaluation,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “It's preliminary, hopefully nothing bad.”

Matt Foster, who was part of the taxi squad on this current White Sox road trip, was recalled from the Schaumburg alternate training site and added to the active roster. Foster, 25, was a 20th round selection in the 2016 Draft.

“I’ve been working my whole life to get this chance and I finally got it under certain circumstances,” said Foster during a Wednesday Zoom. “But I’m happy and excited to be here. I’m ready to get out there and get on the mound.”

Increased usage of the changeup has been Foster’s biggest change since he started with the White Sox. Assistant pitching coordinator J.R. Perdew and Triple-A Charlotte pitching coach Matt Zaleski helped him develop that pitch.

“When I first got drafted, I didn’t throw it a lot,” Foster said. “Over the last couple of seasons, I’ve really developed it. I’ve used it as an out pitch sometimes. The slider the last couple of years has kind of been on and off, but the changeup has gotten progressively better.”

Third to first
• Right fielder Nomar Mazara reported to the team’s Schaumburg alternate training site on Tuesday. The left-handed hitter has been on the injured list since July 21, although no reason has been given for his stay there.

“He just reported, so he's got to go through some workouts,” said Renteria of Mazara. “We'll find out how he's doing, he'll let us know. He's been down for what, a week, 10 days, maybe? So, he'll have to bring himself back up to speed.”

• Infielder Cheslor Cuthbert has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to the Schaumburg training facility.

• Left-handed reliever Ross Detwiler has retired all 15 batters he has faced over three relief appearances, marking the longest season-opening streak by a White Sox pitcher since Gary Glover (16) in 2001 (per Elias).

Glover, Detwiler, Wilson Álvarez (15 in 1992) and Britt Burns (15 in 1980) are the only White Sox pitchers in the last 50 years to retire the first 15-plus batters of the season. Detwiler is attempting to record the longest streak to start a season by a Sox pitcher since Jim Wilson (first 20) in 1957.

He said it
“I expect that. He plays hard and he has a lot of range. That happened to me the other day. I said, ‘I got it,’ and he said, ‘Get out of here.’” -- Jiménez on Luis Robert’s range in center, after Robert took a fly ball from Leury García last night in right

Up next
The White Sox have a scheduled off-day on Thursday, before opening a three-game series against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium Friday. Dallas Keuchel, who earned the win last Saturday vs. Minnesota, gets the call for a 7:05 p.m. CT first pitch. Watch all the action live on MLB.TV.