Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino will miss the rest of the regular season after breaking his right thumb while trying to make a play at first base in the eighth inning of Kansas City’s loss to Houston, the team said Friday.

“No one person is going to carry the weight of Vinny on a daily basis, but we have plenty of good other major league players here to contribute to winning baseball,” Royals Manager Matt Quatraro said.

Pasquantino, who is fourth in the majors with 97 RBI and has been a key piece in the Royals’ turnaround, returned to Kansas City after Thursday night’s 6-3 loss at Minute Maid Park. X-rays revealed the broken bone and Quatraro said Friday that it will require surgery, which they expect to be done early next week.

“Timetable, they say 6-8 weeks, but you never know,” Quatraro said. “We’ve got to see how it goes when they get in there and execute the surgery.”

The Royals entered Friday second in the AL Central, 1 1/2 games back of Cleveland, and firmly in a wild-card position. They were two games ahead of Minnesota for the second wild card and 5 1/2 ahead of Boston for the final spot.

There is a chance Pasquantino could return during the playoffs if the Royals make it and advance far enough.

Pasquantino was hurt on a bizarre play. Royals reliever Lucas Erceg tried to barehand a comebacker by the Astros’ Yainer Diaz in the eighth inning. The ball bounced off his hand, and when Erceg picked it and threw to first, the throw was up the line. Diaz was running hard and collided with Pasquantino’s hand, sending him whirling around in pain.

Pasquantino threw down his glove in frustration and immediately left the game.

Veteran catcher Salvador Perez, who has appeared in 35 games at first base this season, was in the lineup there Friday, but Quatraro said several players will rotate to fill in for Pasquantino.

PHILLIES: All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm did not start Friday night against Atlanta a day after he injured his left hand during an at-bat.

Bohm is batting .280 with 13 home runs and 89 RBI for the Phillies and leads the National League with 44 doubles.

Bohm left Philadelphia’s 5-4 win over the Braves after the second inning with left hand discomfort. Bohm appeared to hurt his hand on an awkward swing in his first at-bat. Edmundo Sosa took over for Bohm.

Sosa started at third base and batted eighth for the NL East leaders.

CARDINALS: St. Louis designated Tommy Pham for assignment, ending the outfielder’s second stint with the team after one month, and recalled outfielder Jordan Walker, who had a strong rookie season in 2023 before struggling this year.

Pham was acquired along with starting pitcher Erick Fedde from the Chicago White Sox on July 29 as part of a three-team trade that sent Michael Kopech and Tommy Edman to the Dodgers.

Pham hit a grand slam in his first game for the Cardinals but batted .206 with two homers and 12 RBI in 23 games. He was 2 for 28 in his last 10 games. Pham batted .266 with five homers and 19 RBI this season for the majors-worst White Sox.

PIRATES: Pittsburgh reinstated outfielder Andrew McCutchen from the 10-day injured list after he had been out with left knee inflammation.

The club made several moves before opening a three-game series against AL Central-leading Cleveland.

Pittsburgh also placed reliever Ben Heller on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation, and right-hander Daulton Jefferies, who is on the 60-day injured list, will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis.

FRIDAY’S GAME

BREWERS 5, REDS 4: Milwaukee broke a 4-4 tie in the 10th inning on a double play as designated runner Eric Haase scored, and Devin Williams made it stand up for a win over the Reds in Cincinnati in the first game of a doubleheader.

The Brewers improved to 6-5 in extra-inning games. The Red dropped to 3-4.

Pinch hitter Brice Turang had a bunt single that moved Haase to third against Alexis Diaz (1-5). The Reds closer had two consecutive blown saves in his last two appearances.