Twins lose to Yankees; Sano makes costly error in right

FORT MYERS, FLA. – Miguel Sano is going to have his moments in the outfield. The Twins are prepared for that.

That's why, after a Sano fielding flub during their 6-4 loss to the Yankees on Sunday, manager Paul Molitor was not concerned about how raw his new right fielder might be.

"In a little bit of a twisted way," Molitor said, "I'm kind of glad [it happened]."

It should be pointed out that, besides a couple of plays, Sano has been functional in right field. But as he transitions from third base to the outfield, his movements will be watched closely.

And, at 6-foot-4 and 263 pounds, there's a lot of Sano to watch.

It all went down in the third inning with the Twins holding a 2-0 lead.

The first two batters of the inning reached base, then Ben Gamel sent a fly ball to Sano's left. Sano chased it, stuck out his glove and watched the ball deflect off it.

An error was assessed, as required when a player doesn't make a play that usually takes ordinary effort to make. Instead of there being one out with runners on first and second, the bases were loaded with no outs. And the Yankees scored three times in the inning to take a 3-2 lead.

Twins righthander Ervin Santana, who was most affected by Sano's mistake, came to the slugger's defense, pointing out that Sano has to live and learn.

"It's good for it to happen now," Santana said. "That way he can recognize it and work on it."

Santana, who gave up four runs, three earned, over five innings on Sunday, said it's a tough adjustment for anyone to make as quickly as Sano is trying to make it. Santana believes Sano will become a good outfielder.

"Everything will be fine," he said. "[Thinking] 'don't hit it there,' that's not me."

It's the second time Sano has made an obvious mistake in the outfield, the other coming March 3 during the spring training home opener, when he misjudged a line drive and had it sail over his head. Otherwise, Sano has held his own.

Molitor said coach Butch Davis, who works with the outfielders, spoke to Sano after the play. Sano had left the clubhouse by the time reporters were allowed to enter following the game.

"For the amount of innings he's been out there, there hasn't been a lot of balls where he's been challenged," Molitor said. "That one tailed away from him. He closed on it well."

Joe Mauer was 1-for-3 with a two-run single Sunday. Eddie Rosario was 2-for-3. Byron Buxton, playing for the first time since getting sick a week earlier, was 1-for-3 with a double off the wall in the fifth inning.

Righthander J.R. Graham gave up two runs in the eighth and took the loss.

Sano, batting third on Sunday, was 0-for-2 with a walk. His move to the outfield will continue to be scrutinized. Molitor hopes the ball continues to find his new right fielder so he can get the mistakes out of the way.

"I'm kind of happy when they hit the ball his way now," Molitor said, "so he gets to see more action.''