San Francisco Giants Suffer Another Injury and Another Loss

Saturday night’s game with the Colorado Rockies ended with another injury and another loss for the San Francisco Giants, both of which are piling up.

Murphy’s Law is in full effect for the San Francisco Giants through three weeks this season: everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong. Already short-handed in the outfield, the Giants lost another outfielder to injury during Saturday’s contest with the Colorado Rockies.

In the bottom of the second inning, Denard Span went back on a Charlie Blackmon flyball, chasing it down to make a run-saving catch on the warning track. After hauling the ball in to end the frame, Span crashed into the outfield wall with his right shoulder and jogged to the dugout in obvious discomfort, leaving his fallen cap on the warning track. He was pointing toward his right shoulder, and was immediately pulled from the game for pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie in the top of the third.

Late in the game, it was reported that Span had suffered a mild shoulder strain and was scheduled for x-rays.

More from Golden Gate Sports

With Hunter Pence getting a night off a day after slipping in the outfield and bruising his knee, manager Bruce Bochy had to put together a makeshift outfield. Gillaspie stayed in the game to play third base, and Eduardo Nunez, who started the game at third, took right field. Gorkys Hernandez, the starting right fielder in Pence’s absence, moved to center field. For Nunez, it was his first outfield appearance since the 2015 season when he was a Minnesota Twin, when he played three games (14 innings) in left field. His last appearance in right field came in 2014 , also with the Twins, and he played two games (11 innings) there.

Pence is expected to be back in the starting lineup for Sunday’s series finale with the Rockies, but the left field conundrum continues, and there is a conundrum in center field as well now.

Injuries continue to pile up for the Giants, as do the losses. Colorado’s lineup teed off on Giants’ starter Matt Moore, who lasted just four innings. He gave up nine hits, three of which left the park, for six runs, and his offense could never overcome that deficit. The Giants didn’t crack the scoreboard until the sixth inning when Joe Panik stroked his first home run of the season to make it a 6-1 ballgame. They chipped away a bit more in the eighth, getting an RBI double from Brandon Belt and another run from Panik, but that was the end of the threat.

This loss drops the Giants to 6-12 on the season, leaving them in last place in the entire National League. Their .333 winning percentage is better than only the Toronto Blue Jays, who started the season with one victory in their first 10 games.

Even if Pence is fine to go after getting a rest day on Saturday (he did pinch-hit and draw a walk in the eighth), the outfield’s depth is being tested more and more. Jarrett Parker is already on the disabled list after breaking his clavicle (coincidentally, he did it while also making a great running catch in support of Moore), and Span has dealt with hip soreness earlier in the year to go along with his now-injured shoulder. Gorkys Hernandez and Chris Marrero have not hit the ball at all so far this year, and the idea of using both of them in the lineup on a consistent basis is not one that inspires any kind of hope.

Next: Bumgarner Heads to DL After Dirt Bike Accident

Mac Williamson and Michael Morse are both on the way, having joined Triple-A Sacramento to continue their rehab stints. If Span needs to hit the disabled hit, it’s entirely possible that the process is expedited for one of them. Drew Stubbs is also an option, and his bat has gotten hot down at Triple-A. He’s hit home runs in two straight games, including a leadoff home run on Saturday. If they want to give a younger player a chance, Austin Slater should be the first guy on the phone.

Home/San Francisco Giants