ARLINGTON, Texas -- Alfonso Soriano wasn't in the Texas Rangers' starting lineup and didn't play Tuesday because of a bruised left knee, a decision that wasn't well-received by the All-Star second baseman.
After talking to manager Buck Showalter before the Rangers' 3-0 win against Oakland, Soriano kicked a garbage can onto its side and then kicked a rolling laundry cart when he came back into the clubhouse.
"I was ready to play today, but they give me off today," Soriano said. "When I come here into the ballpark with my mind 100 percent to play, it's tough to change your mind. I come in every day to play because I know myself and I know my body."
Soriano spent parts of the game sitting at the end of the dugout, holding a bat in his hands. Afterward, he had an ice pack on his left knee, just like earlier in the day.
"He wanted to play," Showalter said after the game. "He could have played, but it was good for him to take a day off to see if we can get the swelling out of there."
The Rangers play Wednesday at Tampa Bay, and Soriano will likely be back in the lineup.
Soriano came out of Monday night's game after seven innings. Soriano had banged his knee twice in the fifth inning -- diving to stab Marco Scutaro's liner to end the top of the inning and then sliding into the base on his leadoff double to start the bottom half.
Soriano said it wasn't his decision to come out of that game.
Mark DeRosa replaced Soriano in the field in the eighth inning Monday night, making a dazzling defensive play and homering in the ninth. DeRosa started at second base Tuesday, when he had six fielding chances without an error and went 0-for-2 while getting hit by a pitch.
Showalter said Soriano's bruise wasn't caused by one particular play and has been a problem for a couple days.
"It's bruised from sliding, contact at second base on the pivots. ... It's a number of things, more than one," Showalter said before the game. "It's a bruised, sore area. Every time there's contact with it, he's going to come up limping. It's not a structural thing, which is good."
The knee problem also has nothing to do with the strained left hamstring that caused Soriano to miss the final 16 games last season. Soriano didn't run or work out until just before spring training, and he was limited the first few weeks in Arizona.
Soriano started the first 14 games, all in the leadoff spot, hitting .286 with three home runs and five RBIs. He struck out 12 times in 63 at-bats and has three stolen bases.
After two games against the Devil Rays, Texas plays this weekend at the New York Yankees, Soriano's team for three years before he was sent to the Rangers in the Alex Rodriguez trade before spring training last season.