BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AMERICAN LEAGUE : Carter Tries to Stay Sharp as Injury Makes Him the DH

Joe Carter, who suffered a sprained right ankle Friday night, was the Toronto Blue Jays’ designated hitter in Game 4 of the American League playoff Saturday night, meaning he would be swinging a table tennis paddle as often as his bat.

“I don’t feel like I’m in the game when I’m on the bench,” Carter said after testing the ankle during batting practice. “I have to stay loose. I have to stay active. I’ll be playing a lot of Ping-Pong (in the clubhouse lounge). A couple of the clubhouse kids are real good. I’ve never beaten them.”

Carter suffered the injury when his rubber cleats caught in the padding of the right-field wall as he pursued a drive hit by Shane Mack of the Minnesota Twins in the fifth inning. The ball fell out of Carter’s glove as his ankle inverted, and Mack got a triple.

Carter left the 3-2, 10-inning loss in the seventh. X-rays taken Saturday morning were negative. Carter received ice and stimulation treatment throughout the day. The ankle was heavily taped and he wore his characteristic high-top shoes for the game.

“There’s still swelling and pain,” he said. “I’m not healthy enough to play right field. I’d be endangering myself and the team, but I do think I can contribute as a DH.

“I’ve come this far and I’m not going to hold back. I have the whole off-season to recover.”

Carter was hitless in five at-bats and was obviously affected by the injury.

Trainer Tommy Craig said a “typical player” probably would not even have tried to DH. “Rest is the best thing for this type injury, but being a gutty player, I don’t think you could have talked Joe out of it,” Craig said.

Carter has played in 505 consecutive regular-season games, the second-longest streak among active players to that of the Baltimore Orioles’ Cal Ripken.

“It’s not the streak,” Carter said of his reliability. “I just feel that when I get to the ballpark, people expect me to play and I expect it of myself. I’ve played with a broken toe, nose and hand. I’ve always been the type of guy who can play with pain.

“If I feel I can make a difference, I’ll play. If I feel that I may hurt the team more than help it, I’ll come out. The streak wouldn’t interfere.”

Carter, who hit 33 home runs and drove in 108 runs during the regular season, was 10 for 42 as a designated hitter with one home run and three RBIs.

Candy Maldonado moved from left to right field, and Mookie Wilson played left.