CHICAGO -- José Abreu knocked out two hits, including his eighth home run, as the first baseman returned to the White Sox lineup Saturday night in a 5-1 loss to the Royals.

Abreu being in the starting lineup is not exactly breaking news. He played all 60 regular-season games last year, has played 154 games or more in four separate campaigns, and he frequently has quipped how his mom, Daysi Correa, gets upset when he sits for a game.

But after watching the impact of Abreu’s second-inning collision near home plate with the Royals’ Hunter Dozier during the White Sox Game 1 6-2 loss on Friday, Abreu’s return becomes all the more remarkable. It’s a return White Sox manager Tony La Russa didn’t think would happen as soon as Saturday.

“No chance. Absolutely no chance,” La Russa said. “I even sent him a text, which I don’t think he got, 'Just be a good cheerleader tonight.' Then I heard as soon as I walked into the training room, he was ready to go. You look at him and he looked battered last night. You look him in the eye, and you could tell he just had some damage, but he was clear eyed and very determined.

“There wasn’t one box that wasn’t checked by our medical team. They were absolutely going to be perfectly ready to bang him if there was anything they suspected was wrong.”

If Abreu had his way, he would have played Friday’s nightcap, but he was held out of the White Sox 3-1 victory. La Russa told reporters that his team’s usually upbeat clubhouse was a little bit quiet Friday after Abreu’s injury, but that Abreu already provided the team a boost simply by showing the collision knocked him down but not out.

La Russa didn’t submit his lineup until a little after 4 p.m. CT Saturday, waiting for medical personnel to clear Abreu. But La Russa told the media that Abreu already was taking swings at that point.

“When I saw him in the cage, I was like, 'No, he can't be swinging.' But he's good. He's ready to go,” White Sox outfielder Leury García said. “He's one of those guys that does a lot of things outside of the field and on the field. And we all want to be around [Abreu]. He likes to be around us, help his teammates, help with the playing. That's the thing, [Abreu] has been doing a great job for us.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard that kind of collision on a baseball field,” said La Russa during his pregame Zoom Saturday. “The fact that they are both going to come out of it without anything serious is really a stroke of good fortune. It was scary. Looked scary, sounded scary.”

Abreu's home run in the fourth inning moved him into sole possession of 10th all-time on the White Sox career RBI list at 704, breaking a deadlock with Magglio Ordonez. It also was Abreu’s 99th career home run at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Oh captain, my captain
La Russa never has named a captain during his 34 years as a manager. But the players on his teams know who are the leaders and the unofficial captains.

“I just think that the season is so demanding, 162 games. You are a position player and there’s so much that is on you that to drop [being captain] on you too is, it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back,” La Russa said. “But I routinely will say captain. I routinely say it to Tim [Anderson] and José [Abreu], ‘Captain, we got to get this one today.’

“Officially, I never have thought that. The guys in the clubhouse know who the captains are and who the assistant captains are. That’s what counts.”

Third to first
• The White Sox are in the midst of playing 27 games in 27 days, from May 11 to June 6, with this Thursday serving as the only scheduled off-day during that stretch. The White Sox play three in Minnesota next week, starting Monday, followed by three at Yankee Stadium, starting Friday.

• Nick Madrigal’s two strikeouts during the opening loss in Friday’s doubleheader marked the first time in his career that Madrigal has struck out twice in the same game. Entering Saturday, Madrigal had 15 career strikeouts over 236 plate appearances.

• Adam Eaton, who did not start Saturday, is a .311 career hitter vs. the Royals and is hitting .385 with runners in scoring position this season. He also is 4-for-32 overall over his last 11 games.

They said it
“I feel great, man. The last few years, we've been up and down, but this year, it's a little different. Everybody can see how we're playing, the team that we have right now. I always say if we can stay healthy -- I know we lost some of those guys like Eloy [Jiménez] and [Luis] Robert, [Adam Engel]. But we still have a great group of guys, and if we can stay healthy, this team is going to be in a good position.” -- García