ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas shortstop Corey Seager is feeling better after having an appendectomy and still hopeful of playing again this season for the playoff-chasing Rangers, though the two-time World Series MVP is unsure if that will happen.

“I mean, I have to think it’s possible … or it won’t be,” Seager said Friday in his first public comments since the procedure Aug. 28 in Texas, the same day the Rangers left for a six-day road trip.

While Seager is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list Sunday, he said there’s no chance of that.

A little while later, the Rangers placed slugger Adolis García on the 10-day IL with a right quadriceps strain – prior to the opener of a three-game series against AL West-leading Houston. That move was retroactive to Tuesday.

Outfielder Dustin Harris was brought up from Triple-A Round Rock and right-hander Jon Gray (right shoulder nerve irritation) was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Seager has researched athletes who have come back to play after an appendectomy.

“I feel like I got very opposite ends of the spectrum,” he said. “It was either really fast or kind of wasn’t.”

Matt Holliday was with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 when he had an appendectomy on April 1, and returned to their lineup as the designated hitter nine days later. Seager said he had also been told of some basketball players returning in three weeks.

“But it’s not rotating and stuff, so I don’t know if that changes it just because of where the incisions are,” Seager said. “So I really don’t know.”

Seager’s appendectomy came a day after he experienced abdominal pain during the Rangers’ previous home game, a 20-3 win in the finale of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 27. He hit his 21st homer of the season in that game, after also going deep the previous night.

Seager said he started feeling pain after the series opener against the Angels.

“Then it just kind of progressively got worse,” said Seager, adding doctors told him he was within 48 hours of his appendix rupturing.

“Which is a very different story,” he said.

Texas went into the series against the Astros five games behind the division leaders, and 1 1/2 games out of the final American League wild-card spot. Second baseman Marcus Semien (left foot) and right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (right rotator cuff strain) are among other injured Rangers.

BALTIMORE — Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing left Friday’s 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles after fouling a pitch off his leg in the top of the sixth inning.

Rushing suffered a right lower leg contusion after he fouled off a pitch from Orioles right-hander Kade Strowd. Rushing was replaced by pinch-hitter Alex Call and then catcher Ben Rortvedt.

Starting catcher Will Smith is not available Saturday because of a right hand contusion.

Manager Dave Roberts said Rushing was in rough shape after the baseball hit the inside of his right knee. The catcher was seen on crutches in the clubhouse after the game.

“It got him pretty good,” Roberts said. “X-rays fortunately were negative. He’s going to get a CT scan tomorrow morning just to kind of dig a little deeper on it. He’s pretty banged up right now. I think until we know more, obviously he’s not going to be in there tomorrow. I guess it’s adding him to the day to day list.”

Roberts said Rortvedt will catch Saturday and the club will call up another catcher.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bobby Witt Jr. left the Kansas City Royals’ 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday in the seventh inning because of low back spasms.

The Royals shortstop made two defensive plays, on ground balls, in the top half of the sixth inning, then exited before Kansas City took the field in the seventh.

“[It happened] sometime in that inning before we took him out,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He talked to [Royals head athletic trainer Kyle Turner]. As he sat there, it got worse.”

With the Royals leading 2-1, Witt was replaced in the lineup by Nick Loftin, who played third base while Maikel Garcia shifted to shortstop.

Quatraro offered no prognosis on Witt’s return.

“Right now, we just think it’s back spasms, low back spasms,” Quatraro said. “It locked up pretty good on him.”

Witt was 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.