After 153 games, there’s no MLB team with every player feeling 100% healthy. But the Giants began the last week of the regular season particularly snakebitten.
First, after first baseman Brandon Belt met with team hand specialist Dr. Scott Hansen, the team has a more definitive answer on his availability: he’s ruled out indefinitely, and will be re-evaluated in a couple weeks.
Belt, SF’s biggest loss, has no timetable for his return. And bumps and bruises are starting to accumulate elsewhere on the roster, too.
Just in Tuesday night’s game against the Diamondbacks, three Giants suffered injuries. Starting second baseman Tommy La Stella left in the eighth inning with left Achilles discomfort. And Alex Dickerson exited after getting plunked in the left foot, though his x-rays were negative. Thairo Estrada too is also set to get his right hand x-rayed, as he was hit with a 93 mph sinker on the fingertips.
The walking wounded still walked away with a 6-4 win, their 103rd of the season.
As for Belt, there’s still too much swelling and inflammation to know more, Kapler said. Before the game, Belt was wearing a black wrap, not a cast, and was in the midst of an examination from Dr. Hansen. The Giants placed him on the 10-day IL before first pitch.
La Stella, a staple at second base and atop SF’s lineup, felt discomfort in his left Achilles rise to the point of removal in the bottom of the sixth inning. He’d singled into shallow right field to move Evan Longoria and Dickerson into scoring position, then went base-to-base on another single and a walk. Donovan Solano replaced him once he made it to third base.
La Stella has been working through some Achilles discomfort for several days, Kapler said. He felt less at-risk and more physically compromised, Kapler said. La Stella told his manager he felt limited on the base paths and as a fielder in terms of range.
So, with the luxury of having a capable backup on the bench in Solano, Kapler replaced La Stella.
Dickerson scored that inning but got on base by taking a ball to the left foot. After he crossed home on Buster Posey’s walk, he left the game to receive an x-ray.
The next inning, Estrada too got hit by a pitch. This time, Diamondbacks reliever Brett de Geus let a fastball run high and in up by Estrada’s neck and head area. He was lucky it only caught his fingertips. Estrada stayed in the game because he felt good enough to grip and throw a ball.
None of Arizona’s relievers could command the strike zone effectively, which became a hazard for SF’s batters. Estrada and Dickerson wore pitches and Longoria danced out of the way of one. AZ added two wild pitches and seven walks.
“I think there’s some frustration anytime we see our hitters having to get out of the way of pitches,” Kapler said. “I think there’s some frustration any time we see guys get hit like Estrada did, particularly around some other injuries that are happening. It just kind of creates a heightened level of sensitivity.”
The three injuries incurred during the Diamondbacks game don’t appear too serious — and not nearly as significant as Belt’s. But there was still more carnage from an individual game than normal. At this point of the season, with five games left and a narrow division lead over the Dodgers, SF can’t afford too many more scratches.
“It’s a bummer,” first baseman Wilmer Flores said of Belt’s injury. “We don’t want to see any of our guys going down. Especially one of our best hitters. But it’s baseball, it’s going to happen. We’ll adjust.”