By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres All-Star slugger Manny Machado wasn’t in the lineup a day after spraining his left ankle and acting manager Ryan Flaherty was optimistic his former teammate won’t need to go on the injured list.
“He’s got some purple and blue in there but overall he’s moving around pretty good and feels good,” said Flaherty, a teammate with Machado in Baltimore, said Monday.
“He’s not in the starting lineup tonight. Outside of that, I think there’s there’s pretty good optimism,” he said.
Machado, who’s having an MVP-caliber season, sprained his left ankle in the first inning Sunday at Colorado while trying to beat out a grounder. He stretched his left leg toward the base as the throw arrived from pitcher Antonio Senzatela and his cleats slipped across the top of the bag.
Machado fell to the ground and his left leg buckled beneath him. The third baseman was in pain, grimacing and clasping his hands around his lower left leg.
He was unable to put weight on the injured ankle and limped off the field with assistance from two team trainers.
“Manny’s a quick healer,” said Flaherty, who is filling in while Bob Melvin remains in COVID-19 protocols. “He takes care of his body and he’s got the ability to recover really quickly.”
The Padres opened a three-game home series against Arizona on Monday night after being swept at Colorado.
Machado is batting .328 with 12 homers and 46 RBIs. He has largely carried the Padres’ offense in the absence of All-Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who remains out while rehabbing his surgically repaired left wrist. Machado has also played outstanding defense at third base.
The Padres entered the day one-half game behind the idle Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
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