Arizona outfielder Justin Upton sprains left ankle as Diamondbacks lose to White Sox 10-3

Upton hurt as Diamondbacks fall to White Sox 10-3

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Diamondbacks lost outfielder Justin Upton to a sprained left ankle during a 10-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

Upton ran the bases in the second inning, beating out a ground ball for an infield hit. He said he jammed the ankle lunging for first base, then felt it when stealing second. He then advanced to third on an error and scored on Jeff Bailey’s single.

“Didn’t realize it was hurting me until I took off to go to second,” Upton said. “It was one of those things where it was sore enough for me to come out.”

Upton, who signed a six-year, $51.25 million contract earlier this month, didn’t come out to play right field in the bottom of the inning, saying he was removed as a precaution. He hopes to play “as soon as possible.”

“Right now it’s just a sore ankle,” Upton said. “We’ve got some games left that hopefully I’ll be able to get into … it’s a day-by-day thing right now.”

The Diamondbacks led 2-0 after Stephen Drew’s solo home run in the third, but the White Sox went ahead for good with three runs in the fourth inning and tacked on three more in the sixth. Omar Vizquel, who entered the game batting .207 in spring training, had two hits and three RBI, Juan Pierre was 3 for 4 and scored twice, and Carlos Quentin had three hits and two RBI.

White Sox third baseman Mark Teahen, who’s been dealing with a sore elbow, had his first multi-hit game of spring training, including a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Chicago’s bullpen turned in another strong performance. Greg Aquino threw a scoreless inning and remains unscored upon with seven strikeouts in 8 1-3 innings this month, and closer Bobby Jenks struck out two and allowed a hit and a walk but no runs in his inning.

“I just worry about Bobby’s calf … his arm is in perfect shape,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

Jenks strained his right calf late last season and it appeared to be bothering him earlier in spring training.

The White Sox had 16 hits and broke a five-game winless streak.

“It’s about time,” Guillen said. “It was getting to the point where I was kind of tired seeing the baseball we were playing.”

Billy Buckner, in competition for a spot in the lower end of the Diamondbacks’ starting rotation, was hit hard for the second straight start, allowing five earned runs on seven hits in 3 2-3 innings. His ERA rose to 11.66.