The Giants are hoping to clinch a series victory in San Diego on Sunday, but they’ll be without the services of first baseman Brandon Belt.
Belt was scratched a little over an hour before first pitch at Petco Park due to a sprained wrist suffered in Saturday evening’s 5-3 loss, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic.
With Belt out of the lineup, San Francisco will shift catcher Buster Posey to first base, and start reserve catcher Nick Hundley. Belt was scheduled to hit third in the Giants’ lineup, but the Giants have moved right fielder Hunter Pence to the third slot in the order and inserted Hundley into the seventh spot in the lineup.
According to Pavlovic, Belt sprained his wrist on a check swing attempt in the Giants’ loss on Saturday.
Belt finished Saturday evening’s game with an 0-for-2 showing at the plate. Both of Belt’s at-bats resulted in strikeouts, but he also drew two walks in the Giants’ loss.
It’s unclear how long Belt will be sidelined due to the injury, but Posey is the only other player on the Giants’ roster with extensive experience playing first base. 29-year-old South Korean infielder Jae-gyun Hwang also played first base for AAA Sacramento this season, but Hwang has only played at third base since his call-up to the Major League level at the end of June.
