Royals' Maikel Garcia likely headed back to the IL with hamstring strain

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia is likely headed back to the injured list just three days after returning from a nearly two-month stay.

Garcia strained his left hamstring in the first inning of the Royals' 6-2 victory over the Athletics Thursday. He reached on a double, but pulled up clutching his left hamstring after rounding third on Salvador Perez’s grounder that eluded shortstop Darell Hernaiz for an error.

“He got it pretty good,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said after the game. “They got an MRI, so he’s likely to go on the IL tomorrow. Really tough break for him dealing with this earlier in the season as well. It’s the other leg, so hopefully that’s a good thing. But it's very frustrating for him and for us, but for him, primarily, just coming back after such a long absence.”

Garcia had just returned Monday after being on the injured list since June 23 with a left hand muscle strain.

Teammate Bobby Witt Jr., who homered and scored three runs, added, “Anytime a guy's just coming back from an injury we hate to see that. Just hoping that he gets back as soon as possible. It’s just unfortunate.”