Mastroianni battles with ankle soreness

HOUSTON – Darin Mastroianni walked through the clubhouse without crutches, without a boot, without even a trace of a limp. A half-hour after being gingerly helped off the field by a couple of athletic trainers, the Twins outfielder had made a complete recovery.

Or as complete as Mastroianni's surgically repaired ankle gets these days.

"Every day it hurts, or at least is just very sore," said the 28-year-old outfielder. "I'll be fine. It feels like the normal postgame soreness."

It didn't look normal, though. When Trevor Crowe lined a Brian Duensing pitch into left field for the winning hit in the ninth inning, Mastroianni raced about 20 feet to his right to retrieve the ball and throw it in, too late to get Jonathan Villar at the plate. Then he crumpled to the ground, where he stayed until trainers reached him.

"It just kind of gave out," Mastroianni said. "I went to plant the foot, it slipped under me, and the ankle kind of gave. … I figured it was easier, rather than walk off with pain, to let it flare down."

The ankle has reacted that way before, he said, "and I was able to play through it. … There's nothing wrong with it — it just kind of grabbed on me."

With jobs at stake next season, Mastroianni doesn't want to come out of the lineup, especially since "I know I can get this thing to 100 percent by next spring," he said. "I can still play defense, run out balls, steal. … It'll be nice to go out there and not think about it."

May won't start any of the first four games, said Brad Steil, the Twins director of minor league operations, since Cole De Vries, P.J. Walters, Pat Dean and Scott Diamond are in line for those games. But it's possible that May, who will be available out of the bullpen this week, might get a start if the Red Wings need one later.

May went 9-9 with a 4.51 ERA in 27 starts for the Rock Cats, and struck out 159 in 152 innings.

"Trevor had a good year in Double A," Steil said, "and he deserved the promotion. With a spot open, he was the logical guy."

Gibson was disappointed with the Twins' decision, General Manager Terry Ryan said, but understood that the Twins didn't want him to add to his 154 innings in his first season since elbow reconstruction surgery.

"He wanted to help that team, which is a good response. I appreciated that," Ryan said. "But I also have a responsibility to Kyle, his future."

• Joe Mauer's first live batting practice session was delayed from Tuesday until Wednesday, Ryan said, but not because of the catcher's condition. Mauer still is doing well after his Aug. 19 concussion, and will be re-evaluated later this week.

• Oswaldo Arcia lost a fly ball in the lights Tuesday, a play that allowed two runs to score, Gardenhire said. The manager wasn't happy about it — "My belief is that ball has to be caught," he said — but said no disciplinary action was called for. "If it was lack of hustle, lack of effort, I'd address it. Always," Gardenhire said. "But he just didn't catch the ball. [A confrontation] would just be me yelling, and that's no good."