Third to first

• Reliever Ramon Troncoso, who was put on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 17 with Pericarditis -- inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart -- made his first appearance since being activated in Sunday's 7-1 loss to the Indians.

The right-hander pitched the eighth and ninth innings of the contest, yielding a homer to Nick Swisher in the ninth and walking a batter.

"It's nice to have him back," Ventura said. "That stuff is scary when there is something going on that you can't really see. Usually it's a shoulder [or something], where you can physically see something wrong with somebody. But when you start dealing with hearts and things like that, it's nice that he's able to come back and at least get back on the mound before the end of the year and prove to us and everybody else he's healthy."

• Outfielder Avisail Garcia, who was scratched from the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Indians, was with his wife on Monday as she gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter named Annarella.

• Chris Sale struck out seven in Sunday's 7-1 loss to Cleveland. The left-hander has 214 strikeouts, which is third in the American League and one shy of the all-time franchise record for strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher.

With two more punchouts, Sale would surpass Gary Peters, who had 215 strikeouts in 1967.