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Jonathan Sanchez leaves start with left ankle sprain

San Francisco Giants v Atlanta Braves

ATLANTA - AUGUST 16: Jonathan Sanchez #57 of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on August 16, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

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The Giants are crumbling before our eyes.

Already short handed on their bench tonight against the Braves, the Giants were forced to go to their bullpen early after left-hander Jonathan Sanchez was pulled in the bottom of the third inning with a left ankle sprain.

Sanchez suffered the injury while fielding a sacrifice bunt by opposing pitcher Randall Delgado. The southpaw gave up one run on one hit and one walk before being replaced by Guillermo Mota.

Barry Zito just sprained his ankle during a rehab start with Triple-A Fresno over the weekend, so the Giants will have to be creative if the injury to Sanchez requires an extended absence. Dan Runzler was just called up from the minor leagues today and has been used primarily as a starter with Triple-A Fresno this season. The more exciting option would be left-hander Eric Surkamp, who has a 2.03 ERA and 156/40 K/BB ratio over 128 1/3 innings at the Double-A level this season.