© Wendell Cruz | 2021 Aug 25
There’s no MLB team that’s completely, 100% healthy at this time of the year. That’s what happens in the dog days of August, with 33 regular season games remaining.
For the Giants, who are entering one of the most important stretches of the season, Kris Bryant is the latest key player to be banged up. Bryant left Friday night’s game in Atlanta in the first inning after feeling his right side tighten up when he checked a swing. The 29-year-old played two outs of defense in the bottom of the first, then didn’t retake the field after a 35-minute rain delay.
After that game, a 6-5 loss, manager Gabe Kapler didn’t seem too concerned with Bryant’s ailment. If it was immediately serious, he would’ve said so, he told reporters in the postgame Zoom.
But the side injury held Bryant out of the lineup for the next two games of the Braves series, on Saturday and Sunday. It’s still bothering him, Kapler said after the 9-0 series finale loss.
San Francisco is taking a cautious approach with Bryant, who’s set to enter free agency this upcoming offseason.
“One thing that we have to be very cognizant of is we don’t want Kris Bryant for one game or two games,” Kapler said. “We want Kris for the rest of the season.”
That means not rushing him back. Kapler added there are no new updates on the nature of Bryant’s side injury, which has been generally described in vague terms.
Kapler said he and Bryant discussed the possibility of playing defense on Sunday, but the versatile fielder told him his side’s still sore.
Bryant likely won’t hit the injured list for the first time in 2021, though. While Kapler said SF wants to protect Bryant, they’re still going to push to get him ready to start the series opener against the Brewers Monday night at Oracle Park.
In his career, Bryant’s been mostly dependable. He played over 150 games in each of his first three seasons, though he missed roughly half of the shortened 2020 season with a variety of injuries, including right oblique tightness.
Bryant, San Francisco’s signature trade deadline acquisition is hitting .272 with six home runs as a Giant. He hit homers in back-to-back games before the injury sidelined him.
With a homestand against the Brewers then the second-place Dodgers, getting him healthy and in the lineup could swing games. But the big picture is always in mind.
Kapler said starter Anthony DeSclafani was healthy enough to stay in the game and pulling him in the fourth inning was a “strategic decision.” But he also admitted he didn’t want to risk further injury for DeSclafani.
“He came out healthy,” Kapler said. “Went out there to check on him, he just had a hard time getting over to first base to cover the bag. Just wanted to make sure that everything was alright. Went out there with (athletic trainer Dave Groeschner) as a precautionary measure.”
DeSclafani, in his first start since injuring his push-off ankle in a 1.1-inning outing against the Mets, was sharp in the first three innings before surrendering two home runs in the fourth. DeSclafani, who entered Sunday’s matchup with a 3.26 ERA, said he had to battle through pain, and that may be the case going forward.
“I think it’s going to be just a tolerance thing,” DeSclafani said. “Hopefully as I keep going, the tolerance aspect just gets a little easier.”
For treatment, DeSclafani said the training staff is “throwing the kitchen sink” at his ankle. He received a cortisone shot after his MRI showed no structural damage, and wrapped it before Sunday’s start.
His first three innings against the Braves were encouraging, though. DeSclafani showed solid command and pitch velocity, retiring the first six batters he faced. He allowed a leadoff single in the third inning, but then struck out the next three hitters.
His next scheduled start is next Friday to open the series with the Dodgers.