Giants’ Slater suffers injury, goes on IL
SAN FRANCISCO >> One of the catalysts behind the Giants’ recent success at the plate is headed to the injured list.
Manager Gabe Kapler announced Saturday that outfielder Austin Slater has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a mild left groin strain and the team has recalled outfielder Steven Duggar from the Sacramento alternate site.
Slater was injured running from second to third on a Mike Yastrzemski single in the first inning in the Giants’ 6-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park on Friday. Slater came out of the game immediately and was replaced as the team’s designated hitter by Darin Ruf.
The injury comes at a tough time for Slater and the Giants as he was recovering from a right elbow flexor strain that limited him to DH duties over the last week. Slater injured his elbow in Houston against the Astros and was likely going to make his return to the outfield on Saturday against the D’backs.
“It’s tough, I felt really bad for Slater,” Kapler said. “He works so hard to keep his body in peak physical condition and I know how frustrating it is to have one injury and be almost all the way back.”
Slater is hitting .347 with a team-high 1.111 OPS in 59 plate appearances this year and is tied for the major league lead with six stolen bases. He’s turned a platoon
role into more of an everyday opportunity, but he won’t be eligible to return to the that role until the first week of September. BUMGARNER WON’T FACE GIANTS >> Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo announced on Friday that left-hander Madison Bumgarner is slated to pitch again on Sunday, but his outing will take place at Chase Field and not Oracle Park.
Bumgarner’s highly anticipated return to San Francisco will have to wait until Labor Day weekend as the left-hander is still recovering from a midback strain that landed him on the injured list for the third time in his career.
Even if Bumgarner was healthy, it might play into the Giants’ favor to face the struggling left-hander as San Francisco’s offense has crushed lefties this season. The Giants’ .836 team OPS against left-handed starters ranks third in baseball behind the Chicago White Sox and reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals.
BART OFF HIS TRACKS >> Giants rookie Joey Bart has made quite an impression since making his debut on Thursday, but Kapler held him out of Saturday’s starting lineup to give the team’s top prospect a rest.
With no minor league season to build up stamina, Bart never had the opportunity to catch back-to-back games this summer before doing so in each of his first two days in the big leagues. Kapler expects Bart to start on Sunday and the Giants have the benefit of giving him an additional breather with Monday’s scheduled off day.
LONGORIA HITS A MILESTONE >> Giants rookie starter Logan Webb set career-highs with 7.0 innings and eight strikeouts in Friday’s win over the D’backs, but it was the accomplishments of a teammate that left the right-hander marveling after the game.
Third baseman Evan Longoria became the 150th player in baseball history to reach 300 career home runs with a two-run blast against the D’backs on Friday. Longoria’s home run came a day after shortstop Brandon Crawford became the third shortstop in Giants franchise history with 100 career homers as he joined Rich Aurilia and Travis Jackson.
“I feel like I’ve been pretty lucky to see some pretty cool things,” Webb said Friday. “I got to see Boch last year, Yaz’s home run in Boston, Crawford’s 100th yesterday and then Longo’s today.”
Longoria became the 10th player in franchise history to hit his 300th career home run in a Giants uniform, which ranks second to the New York Yankees who have had 15 players reach the milestone while wearing pinstripes.
“I’ve never really thought about personal numbers, but it is special,” Longoria said. “My wife continued to remind me before the year started that I was only three short and she really likes even numbers so I had to make sure I got there.”