CLEVELAND — As expected, the Indians placed first baseman Matt LaPorta on the disabled list Saturday with a right ankle sprain.
Cleveland manager Manny Acta called LaPorta’s injury a “mild high ankle sprain,” and said he expects him to miss two-to-three weeks.
Outfielder Travis Buck was called up from Triple-A Columbus for his third stint with the Indians to fill LaPorta’s spot on the roster.
LaPorta could blame himself for the injury, with a poor baserunning decision getting him caught in a rundown between second and third in the third inning Friday night. He sustained the injury while changing direction to go back to third, crumpling on the infield dirt and needing assistance to leave the field.
With LaPorta out of the lineup, the majority of playing time at first base figures to go to Carlos Santana. Buck, who took groundballs at the position prior to Saturday’s game, and third baseman Jack Hannahan, who played there in place of LaPorta on Friday, are also options.
The Indians went with Buck over rehabbing first baseman Nick Johnson, with Acta saying Johnson needed more at-bats on the minor league level. Johnson had played in nine rehab games with Columbus and Double-A Akron through Friday, batting .219 (7-for-32) with a double.
Acta was also asked if top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall hadn’t gone on the disabled list, would the Indians have promoted him from the minors to play third, while Hannahan moved to first.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard that,” Acta said. “We didn’t discuss that. I don’t think even if he was healthy that that was Plan B.”
LaPorta, who has been mediocre at best in the field, has struggled for the majority of the season at the plate, batting .242 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs in 59 games.
Buck is batting .226 with two homers and eight RBIs in 29 games for Cleveland. He has no hits in his last 20 big league at-bats.
Shift slidin’
The Pirates are the first team to employ a shift to the right side on left-handed hitters Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore, orchestrating the move once the first strike was recorded.
It guards against a bunt before the first strike, then plays the odds of both players pulling the ball.
“That’s going through the defensive charts,” Acta said. “It’s something that some teams do to distract the hitters. If you have enough data, I’m all for it. You’re playing the percentages.”
Both Choo and Sizemore tried to put down bunts against the shift with one strike Saturday. Sizemore fouled off the pitch and Choo bunted back toward the mound for an out.
Hitting pitchers
Indians pitchers have begun to take batting practice with a stretch of nine road interleague games on tap Friday-July 3.
Acta called Josh Tomlin the best hitter of the bunch, but isn’t predicting a lot of offense from his pitchers.
“Tomlin is very athletic. He swings the bat very good,” Acta said. “It is what it is. It doesn’t matter how much work we do. It’s not the same as a (National League) pitcher that goes through all of spring training doing it to go through a whole season.”
Minor details
Shelley Duncan went 2-for-3 with three of Columbus’ five RBIs Friday in a 6-5 victory over Scranton.
** First baseman Beau Mills (first-round draft pick in 2007) was the only player with a multihit game for Double-A Akron on Friday, going 2-for-4 in a 4-3 loss to Portland. Mills entered Saturday batting .295 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 30 games.
** First baseman Chase Burnette (18th-round draft pick last year) had an up-and-down game Friday for High-A Kinston in an 8-0 loss to Lynchburg. He had two of the team’s three hits but also committed two errors.
Roundin’ third
The Indians are the only team in the majors to not start a left-handed pitcher this year.
** Cleveland entered Saturday leading the American League with 10 homers out of the leadoff spot (Sizemore six, Michael Brantley four).
** The Indians signed another draft pick, agreeing to terms with 23rd-round selection RHP Cody Allen out of High Point University (Fla.). Cleveland drafted him in the 16th round last year.
** NASCAR’s Kurt Busch was in attendance.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
NASCAR’s Kurt Busch was in attendance.
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Fan him Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
