CLEVELAND -- Yan Gomes is out of the lineup as the Indians begin a weekend series against the Astros with what has been diagnosed as a slight concussion.
Gomes was hit in the side of the mask by a ball that deflected off Kurt Suzuki during the fifth inning of Thursday's game at Minnesota. Gomes said that he didn't start feeling the effects until an inning later, which is when he left the game.
"Just spinning a little bit and I kind of started dry heaving, so that didn't make me feel very good, so I felt that was a good reason to take me out," Gomes said. "I'm kind of just going through protocol and there's really no timetable or anything yet. But the good sign is that I definitely came back feeling better today."
Manager Terry Francona said in his pre-game comments that the training staff is hopeful that Gomes can return in a week, which is why he wasn't put on the seven-day concussion disabled list. Gomes did take part in some pregame activities while the Indians took batting practice.
This is the Indians third concussion-related incident. Earlier this season, Carlos Santana ended up being placed on the seven-day DL while Michael Brantley missed three games.
"You can't short change that progress. He is either going to be Ok or not and we'll act accordingly," Francona said.
Since the All-Star Break, Gomes is hitting .351, which is second in the American League among everyday players. He also has five home runs and 17 RBI. Gomes has played 109 games this season and is batting .284 with 17 home runs and 53 RBI.
Roberto Perez, who is batting .278, will get his 13th start since being called up on July 8.
TRYING TO BREAK A SLUMP: Lonnie Chisenhall is hitting .174 since the All-Star Break, which is the lowest average among regulars on the team. August though has not been the best of months during Chisenhall's as he has a .184 career average.
Chisenhall, who is batting .286, will play his 108th game this season after taking part in 91 all of last year. Francona was asked if there has been a bit of fatigue factor as the reason for the slump.
"He's just not getting to some balls that he did earlier. Early in the season he was hitting a lot of balls to left field, some hard, some not hard and then as the league made adjustments he started to pull the ball," Francona said. "Lately the same balls he was hitting before he is fouling back or getting jammed a bit."
