Yankees 2B Cano out with hand injury

Aug 2, 2008 - 10:12 PM BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has a sore left hand and will be sidelined on a day-to-day basis.

Cano, who has slumped offensively over his last six games, was not in the lineup for Saturday afternoon's game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He suffered the injury last Sunday night while swinging at a pitch from Boston's Jon Lester.

"It's frustrating, but I should only be out for a few days," Cano said. "Then I can get back in the game."

A career .303 hitter, Cano was seen with his hand heavily taped in the Yankees' locker room prior to the matinee contest. The former All-Star likely will also miss Sunday's finale of New York's four-game series with Anaheim.

"We're going to give him a day off today and see how it feels tomorrow," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We'll make sure we get him back 100 percent. He's available for us."

After batting just .217 over his first 67 games this season, Cano showed marked improvement at the plate, raising his average to .270 entering last Sunday's series finale at Fenway Park.

But the 25-year-old Cano went just 3-for-26 over his last six games, prompting Girardi to replace him with Wilson Betemit on Saturday.

"He's been fighting through it," Girardi said. "We just felt that giving him a day off and worrying about it tomorrow might be helpful. He was swinging the bat so great, and I think this has affected it."

Cano has appeared in 107 games this season, batting .260 with nine homers and 50 RBI.