© Jason Getz | 2021 Aug 27
The Giants left Friday night’s series-opener in Atlanta with a 6-5 defeat, but the game could have bigger ramifications than just an addition to the loss column.
Giants star Kris Bryant, who homered in back-to-back games leading up to Friday, exited in the bottom of the first inning after tweaking his right side in the top of the first. Manager Gabe Kapler said the injury occured when Bryant check-swung during his first at-bat, a line-out to right field.
Bryant played third base for two outs in the first inning, but didn’t return to the field after the 35-minute rain delay. Kapler, however, said they made the decision to yank Bryant before play paused.
“We’re going to see how he feels in the morning, and obviously update you from there,” Kapler said.
There weren’t many details for Kapler to disclose postgame, but he didn’t seem too concerned about Bryant, who’s hitting .272 with six home runs as a Giant.
“If there was like a definitive, ‘this is something that we need to let you know is concerning for a long period of time,’ we’d let you know that,” Kapler said. “We’re not there. We’re going to evaluate him tomorrow.”
The Giants’ starter Kevin Gausman, meanwhile, also experienced some discomfort during Friday’s game, but he pitched through it.
In the third inning, Gausman rushed from the mound to cover first base on a chopper between first and second, but he slipped awkwardly on the slick bag and fell into a split. That re-aggravated a hip injury that’s hampered him for the majority of the season, he said. He convinced athletic trainer Dave Groeschner and Kapler to remain in the game.
“I was in a weird position,” Gausman said. “My foot just kind of gave out on me with all my weight on it. It didn’t feel good.”
Kevin Gausman says the weird splits he did reaggravated his hip issues, but he wanted to stick it out for the bullpen.
“I just didn’t really want to come out of the game.” pic.twitter.com/07RAVc6zoJ
— KNBR (@KNBR) August 28, 2021
Gausman, SF’s ace, said the hip pain started during his fifth start of the season — on April 24 against the Miami Marlins. The injury lingered up until the last few weeks, Gausman said, so he’s proven he can pitch through this particular injury before. And Friday, he actually pitched better after the re-aggravation; Gausman retired 12 of the next 13 Braves, including 11 straight, to make arguably his best start since the All-Star Break.
But Gausman still said he felt the pain after that uncomfortable spill.
“I just didn’t want to come out of the game right there, with how many innings our bullpen has been throwing for us,” Gausman said. “To put that on those guys, I just felt like I was able to go.”
Gausman and Bryant are unabashedly two of the Giants’ most important players. Though the early reports on their bruises from Friday night appear optimistic, keeping them as healthy as possible is paramount for SF’s remaining 34 regular season games.