Reyes OK after being struck by a ball in face

OAKLAND -- Jose Reyes is expected to be available for this weekend's series against the Mariners despite being struck by a ball during the eighth inning of Thursday afternoon's 5-2 win over the A's.

The incident happened after Oakland's Billy Burns hit a little flare into short right field. Burns stretched the hit into a double and as he slid into second, the throw from Jose Bautista hit his back and ricocheted into Reyes' face.

There was some initial speculation that Reyes might have done some damage to his left ankle after he awkwardly fell to the ground, but Blue Jays trainer George Poulis ran onto the field after the play and all of the focus was on the head area.

"He got hit on the lips," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He was spitting a little blood. He's got those nice teeth like I [do] so you have to protect them."

Reyes was slow to get off the ground, but he eventually did shake it off and started to slowly walk around the infield. With Toronto leading 5-2 in the eighth, the club took a cautious approach by removing Reyes from the game and the injury is not considered serious.

Back-up infielder Ryan Goins entered the game to replace Reyes at shortstop. If Reyes is forced to miss an additional game, Goins would take his spot in the lineup, but anything more than a day off to rest is not expected.