After a torrid stretch, Robinson Cano is cold again at the plate - and maybe for good reason.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi revealed yesterday that Cano has a sore left hand, the result of being jammed by an inside pitch from the Red Sox's Jon Lester last Sunday in Boston.

Cano was absent from the lineup in the Yankees' 8-2 victory over the Angels and will have his hand reevaluated today. Wilson Betemit made his second start of the season at second base in Cano's place.

Cano is batting .344 since the All-Star break, but was in an 0-for-10 rut as yesterday's play began. Cano, whose hand was wrapped after he arrived at the ballpark, was examined by the team's medical staff, but said X-rays were not taken.

"He's been fighting through it," Girardi said. "We just felt that the day off and reevaluate him [today], it might be helpful. He was swinging the bat so great, and I think it's affecting him a little bit."