Brandon Crawford played in his 1,623rd game as a Giant — seventh-most in franchise history — but didn’t get through the whole game.
Crawford, 36, left with manager Gabe Kapler and a trainer after hustling down the first base line in the sixth inning. He beat out a double play, but not without injuring himself.
The veteran shortstop left after a brief conversation with Kapler and trainer Anthony Reyes. Infielder J.D. Davis replaced him as a pinch runner, and Casey Schmitt shifted over from second base to Crawford’s post in the field.
After the game, Kapler said that Crawford was experiencing some left hamstring tightness. He didn’t seem overly concerned about his shortstop.
“Pretty precautionary getting him out of there, but he would’ve had to run the bases and that didn’t seem all that smart given we’re a day away from the All-Star break,” Kapler said. “We felt like it was the right move to get him out of there, both the right thing for Brandon and for the club.”
Crawford wanted to stay in the game — and probably could have, Kapler said. With one game until the All-Star break Monday, Crawford could feasibly take five straight days off.
Crawford is hitting .219 on the season with a .653 OPS that is almost identical to his 2022 mark. He has been swinging the bat better recently, with a .750 OPS since tweaking his pregame routine in Minnesota on May 22. He has also supplied clutch hits consistently all year despite his struggles, batting .367 with runners in scoring position on the season.
The Giants are already down Thairo Estrada, who is sidelined for four-to-six weeks with a fractured left hand. Crawford likely won’t have to miss substantial time, but the Giants may be more inclined to target middle infield offense at the trade deadline, also has to miss time, which president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said they already might do.
Crawford likely won’t be in the lineup in Sunday’s series finale against Colorado. Kapler said the club will “hopefully” have him available off the bench to hit or play defense, signaling that the injury is especially mild.
