Bryant expected back in lineup soon

ATLANTA — And the Giants’ organization exhaled.

A day after Kris Bryant was pulled from Friday night’s series opener with tightness in his right side, the Giants received his MRI results, which showed no serious damage.

The team’s biggest acquisition at the trade deadline, the marquee middle-of-the-order hitter and versatile defender was OK.

Instead of missing significant time, Bryant, who was deemed unavailable Saturday, could return to the lineup

Sunday.

And, yeah, manager Gabe Kapler said he did exhale.

“Sure,” he said. “Any time you get the results of an MRI, an X-ray, feedback from a player that says, ‘Hey, I’m doing better’ — and we may have avoided, in Kris’ case, anything major — I would always say that would be good news and an opportunity to feel better about the situation.”

Bryant, acquired July 30 from the Cubs for two prospects, felt tightness on a check swing in the first inning Friday. After the game was halted for a 35-minute rain delay, he was replaced and underwent treatment.

For a team with designs on October glory, the Giants can ill afford to lose a player of Bryant’s status. Already on the two-city trip, several players have exited games with ailments: Buster Posey with knee soreness, Brandon Crawford with back tightness and Curt Casali with dizziness.

Posey missed two games; the other two were available the following day.

In addition, pitcher Kevin Gausman aggravated a hip

injury when falling while covering first base during Friday’s start but remained in the game.

“The way I process it is, before these guys are baseball players, they’re people,” Kapler said. “Usually, the first thing that goes through my mind is, how’s this person doing, and how are they going to be impacted physically?

“Then, obviously, I start to transition to, ‘What does this mean for our club?’ All those things happen pretty quickly. I don’t think there’s a step A, B and C. They happen simultaneously.”

Other players missing time on the trip include Donovan Solano, who is in quarantine in New York after testing positive for the coronavirus, and Brandon Belt, who’s on the bereavement list.

Briefly: Belt returned to the club following his grandmother’s funeral services in Texas and is expected to be activated and play Sunday . ... Anthony DeSclafani (right ankle inflammation) will be reinstated from the injured list to start Sunday . ... Triple-A Sacramento infielder Jason Vosler flew to Atlanta in case Bryant’s injury was more serious. He’ll fly back to the Bay Area with the team after Sunday’s game.