There was no immediate rationale when Thairo Estrada pinch-hit for Brandon Crawford in the fifth inning with two runners in scoring position against right-handed starter German Marquez.
It later became clear that Crawford exited with right quad tightness. He’d felt a bit of discomfort while running to first base after his first at-bat, he told reporters postgame. The pain didn’t go away, and the veteran left the game.
Neither Crawford nor manager Gabe Kapler appeared overly worried about the injury. An injured list stint, at least at first impression, seems extremely unlikely.
“Just some tightness,” Kapler said. “We actually considered leaving him in the game. We felt like it was the best thing to do, with caution and to get him out of there. Haven’t had the chance to get to talk to him after the game, but didn’t get the sense that we’re dealing with anything long-term.”
Crawford has also been under the weather recently. He was scratched for a game in Philadelphia with a sinus infection.
The shortstop said he and the training staff collectively decided to pull him from the game as the pain didn’t subside.
“Being sick, along with it, probably helped contribute to this,” Crawford said. “Just got to make sure it doesn’t get any worse.”
On the season, Crawford is hitting .220 with five home runs and a .669 OPS. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in San Francisco’s 5-3 loss to the Rockies.