Here are three thoughts following the Twins beatdown by Oakland


IS SANO REALLY GOING TO MISS JUST A FEW DAYS?: If Dr. Molitor is correct and Miguel Sano just needs three to five days to recover from a sore right ankle, then it makes sense to wait it out. That would knock him out of the Angels series and make him available for the Yankees series next weekend. All indications are that it was a minor injury that was aggravated when he batted. He was limping some on Sunday but didn't have his ankle wrapped when we were in the clubhouse. The Twins, however, have a history of falling short in their predictions. So if there's any hint he might be out longer they should be ready to DL him and be cautious. They need him, which is strange to write for a guy with 13 games of major league experience. And, just to be clear, Molitor pointed out his lack of medical background when he threw out the three-to-five day guess.

SANTANA AT SHORT: If he was hitting, his errors wouldn't be so glaring. But his two bad throws on Sunday - and a third that was nearly in the dirt - did not help his quest to re-establish himself as the everyday shortstop. Santana had not committed an error in 14 games but threw away two balls on Sunday during the Twins' 14-1 loss to Oakland. The first one, on a routine grounder hit by Brett Lawrie, should have ended the inning but allowed Josh Phegley to bat and hit a two-run home run. Then he misfired a throw on Billy Burns' grounder in the fifth. Burns can fly, but Santana still had time to throw him out.``That wasn't his best day," Molitor said. ``Not too hard to say that." Not sure if the Twins have a lot of options right now. Eduardo Escobar is not hitting. Eduardo Nunez is not an every day player. Santana has a lot of potential that's not showing up on the field. And Molitor is worried about him taking his offensive struggles out to defense. ``This year has been a little more challenging," Molitor said. ``We talked about expectations and opportunities and how you handle it is part of your development. It's hard to do at this level but he's got to figure it out."

TWINS AT AN INTERESTING POINT: They are a better team than Oakland but things went haywire on Saturday and they were blitzed on Sunday. Now comes another checkpoint for them on the season They have three games against the Angels, which lead the A.L. West. Then they have three games at Target Field against the Yankees, which lead the A.L. East. Then Pittsburgh, who has the second best record in the National League, are in for two games. They stepped it up when they went to Kansas City then came home to Detroit. Can they shake off this loss and do the same against three playoff teams?