Longoria injures ankle

PHOENIX — There is no good time for an injury, but some times are worse than others, particularly when a struggling player is just beginning to click.

So it goes for third baseman Evan Longoria, who seemed poised to overcome his awful start but reinjured his left ankle Tuesday while standing in the batter’s box during Derek Holland’s regular betweenstarts bullpen session.

Manager Bruce Bochy offered a prognosis of “a couple of days” for Longoria, who missed a week in spring training with what the player described then as a recurring injury in the back of the ankle.

Longoria seems confident he will return sooner this time, saying after the Giants’ 1-0 loss Tuesday that he probably could have pinch-hit and hopes to return Wednesday night.

This has to count as a freak injury. Longoria said he felt it with an odd step.

“It’s just a weird thing,” he said. “I wish I could expain it. Sometimes when I move it in a funny way, it locks up. I know it sounds bad to say it like that, but it is what it is.”

Longoria batted .114 over the first 10 games but was 7-for-19 with three doubles and a homer in his past five. Samardzija update: Jeff Samardzija threw a bullpen Tuesday afternoon, and the Giants are leaning toward activating him Saturday to make his 2018 debut against the Angels. Bochy was not ready to make an announcement and said he would hold off to ensure Samardzija feels OK on Wednesday.

Bochy provided a hint that Andrew Suarez could pitch this weekend instead. The club had Suarez pitch in San Jose on Monday night when Sacramento was rained out to keep him on turn for Saturday just in case.

However, Suarez’s requisite 10 days in the minors would not allow him to return before Sunday. To pitch Saturday, he would have to replace a player put on the disabled list.

The Giants flirted with the idea of a second rehab start for Samardzija after he was slammed for six runs in his first one at San Jose, but shifted gears after Tyler Beede was hit hard in San Diego on Sunday. “I feel good to go,” Samardzija said. Briefly: Buster Posey returned after missing Sunday’s game with a right-thumb injury that he said occurs every season. He said that not hitting the ball on the barrel can worsen the injury. He had not been squaring up many balls before he hit two hard Tuesday night. ... The Diamondbacks were bidding for their third nohitter. Randy Johnson threw a perfect game in Atlanta in 2004 and Edwin Jackson had an eight-walk no-hitter in Tampa Bay in 2010.