The Detroit Tigers' designated hitter on Monday night, Andy Dirks, was forced to leave the game early due to tightness in his left hamstring. It's the same hamstring that forced Dirks to miss about a week recently and he is once again considered day-to-day.
Dirks appeared to tweak the hammy when rounding first on his way to second on a fly ball that Royals' outfielder Alex Gordon misplayed. After catcher Alex Avila grounded out, Tigers trainer Kevin Rand and Jim Leyland came out onto the field to check on Dirks and he was subsequently removed. Recently called up Brad Eldred replaced Dirks for the rest of the game.
Dirks was 2-for-3 before leaving with the injury, raising his batting average to .314 on the season.
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