Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants should be taking great care of Mike Yastrzemski on the way back from Houston.
Three Giants hitters have truly emerged this season, and two of them are dealing with injuries.
Austin Slater became the latest concern when he was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with what Gabe Kapler later said is right elbow soreness that Slater felt during Tuesday’s game. Slater, whose rep has been that he can’t hit righties, had hit his way into the No. 3 spot of the order against Zack Greinke, but had to be removed when he tried to get it warmed up and couldn’t.
Slater feels it when he both throws and swings, and Kapler suggested they will get a scan on his elbow when they get back to San Francisco.
For August, the 27-year-old outfielder has been the Giants’ best player, now slashing .342/.444/.632 on the season and hitting righties (while still destroying lefties).
Donovan Solano, another one in the conversation for the Giants’ best player thus far, still has abdominal soreness that has kept him out of a pair of games, and neither he nor Slater was available Wednesday, Kapler said.
Solano’s soreness was “better today than it was yesterday,” the manager said after the Giants’ 5-1 loss to the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
The Giants have an off day Thursday before a three-game set at Oracle Park with the A’s. If Slater or Solano has to miss extended time, that would be an enormous blow for a team that has not been able to hit.
It was a strange Giants debut for Trevor Cahill, who did not give up a hit but walked four and recorded five outs. He was on a short leash (55 pitches) because he is not built up yet.
“He was missing just off the corners at times,” Kapler said over Zoom about his starter, who didn’t allow a run. “He wasn’t perfectly efficient, but he was certainly effective.”
After having thrown in a couple camps and the strange environment that is Sacramento, Cahill said he felt ready to face major league hitters again. His stuff wasn’t its sharpest, but the tools were there for him.
Facing big leaguers can be just a bit different than facing the defending AL champs.
“They had some good at-bats today,” said the 12th-year pitcher, who’s pitched against Houston plenty. “It was one of those games where you walk four guys but you didn’t feel super uncompetive any at-bat in particular. They just won some battles.
“… They were better than me today.”
The big blow came off Martin Maldonado’s bat, a sixth-inning three-run home run on a four-seam fastball from Caleb Baragar that was low in the zone.
“Definitely the location of his fastball,” Kapler said in identifying the issue. “Right now he’s having a tough time elevating it. … He’s targeting the top of the zone but he’s missing down in the zone.”
Twenty games — one-third — of the way into the season, slashlines of the Giants’ veterans:
Brandon Belt: .135/.238/.243
Evan Longoria: .213/.250/.319
Hunter Pence: .105/.150/.237
Brandon Crawford: .208/.263/.208
Pablo Sandoval: .179/.267/.179