John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
New parents have chaotic lives in the days after, though Alex Dickerson’s might not be the most relatable.
He was there for his wife as Jennifer gave birth to a boy, Levi, in Southern California on Sunday, the couple’s first child. He then had to say goodbye to the pair of them for at least a week and rush back to San Francisco for the final eight games of a regular season that the club hopes will lead to the postseason.
He arrived at Oracle Park, got ready to play and then starred, coming up a triple short of the cycle, his three hits half of the team’s six and his ninth homer of the year coming in the seventh inning of a 7-2 loss.
He was so close to getting back to his bed and getting some much-needed rest, but then came his ninth-inning at-bat — an 89.7-mph slider from Colorado’s Tyler Kinley plunking his right elbow. He was in obvious discomfort on the basepaths, and so he needed to make one more stop before bed: the X-ray room.
Thankfully for the club and outfielder, X-rays came back negative after the disappointing loss that puts them a half-game back of a wild-card spot with seven to play. Their outfield is already in upheaval as Austin Slater can’t throw and Mike Yastrzemski (for the moment) can’t run, developments that have turned Darin Ruf into an everyday player and Luis Basabe into a major league piece.
It’s still possible his elbow is balky and Dickerson could sit, but the X-ray coming back clean was as good news as the Giants got Monday. The club needs both his bat and, unexpectedly, outfield defense. So much of the rest of the Giants’ season will hinge on the status of his hinge.
Donovan Solano was in clear pain after being drilled in the lat, but Gabe Kapler said they “think we’re good there,” as Solano stayed in the game.
Chadwick Tromp was scratched after jamming his right shoulder diving back to first on a pick-off try Sunday. He had a hard time getting loose, and thus Joey Bart was inserted to catch Johnny Cueto, which has been an uncomfortable pairing in the past.
Tromp was able to catch the ninth, so the injury does not appear overly serious.
The Giants were not blaming Cueto’s hip pain or his connection with Bart for his 4 1/3-inning, seven-run letdown.
Kapler cited Cueto’s control, and Cueto said his hip, which had begun hurting in an Aug. 30 start in Arizona, felt fine.
“I think mainly it was just a couple of pitches that I left in the middle,” Cueto said through translator Erwin Higueros. “I don’t think that’s a big deal. I just got to continue working and hope that we can qualify for the playoffs.”
