Twins-Athletics: Sano out at least a few days with right ankle sprain

Miguel Sano is out of the lineup because of a right ankle sprain suffered before yesterday's game.

Sano was in the middle of first base drills when a ball rolled in from the outfield. Sano was in the middle of making a play when he stepped on the ball and rolled his ankle.

``We should have done a better job of clearing the field," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.

Sano was able to make his start as the designated hitter on Saturday but the ankle got worse as the game went on. He still managed to hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth that gave the Twins a momentary lead, but he left the part on crutches as a precaution. There is some minor swelling.

``Hopefully just a couple days," Sano said.

Molitor said they hope Sano will be out just three to five days. Any longer would make him a candidate for the disabled list. It comes down to him being able to hit without it affecting his swing, which it did as the game went along last night.

It's a setback for the Twins, who have been able to trot out a top five of Brian Dozier, Torii Hunter, Joe Mauer, Sano and Trevor Plouffe over the last couple weeks of games. And that group has been able to put together some nice innings. Sano has impressed with his plate discipline while batting .326 with two home runs, nine RBI, a .434 on base percentage and .558 slugging percentage.

Tommy Milone is on the mound for the Twins today as he faces his former team for the first time since he was traded to the Twins last season. Billy Butler is 8-for-16 against him.

Torii Hunter, the DH today, is 5-for-7 against A's starter Jesse Chavez.

Twins

Brian Dozier, 2B
Eddie Rosario, RF
Joe Mauer, 1B
Torii Hunter, DH
Trevor Plouffe, 3B
Aaron Hicks, CF
Shane Robinson, LF
Eric Fryer, C
Danny Santana, SS

Tommy Milone, LHP

Oakland

Billy Burns, CF
Mark Canha, 1B
Ben Zobrist, 2B
Billy Butler, DH
Jake Smolinski, LF
Brett Lawrie, 3B
Josh Phegley, C
Josh Reddick, RF
Marcus Semien, SS

Jesse Chavez, RHP