Giants put Crawford on IL with mild strain

LOS ANGELES — And so it goes for the Giants: One veteran AllStar comes off the injured list and another goes on.

On the day San Francisco welcomed Buster Posey’s return for a significant fourgame series at Dodger Stadium, the team lost its shortstop for 1014 days. Brandon Crawford was placed on the IL with what manager Gabe Kapler termed a “mild” oblique strain and he’ll miss seven games against Los Angeles, the Giants’ nearest pursuer, in that time.

“It’s frustrating from a lot of perspectives: because I felt so good most of the year but especially recently, and having so many games against these guys coming up that I won’t be a part of,” Crawford said. “And just the amount of guys that we’ve had on the IL this year, especially right now. All those things make it pretty frustrating.”

The Giants have had their entire projected infield on the IL recently, with second baseman Tommy La Stella (thumb), third baseman Evan Longoria (SC joint strain) and first baseman Brandon Belt (knee inflammation) all out.

“Hopefully, we can get (everyone) back kind of around the same time and be at full strength,” Crawford said. “We haven’t had that for a while.”

Crawford felt the injury on the final swing of his final atbat Sunday, and an MRI exam Monday in Los Angeles confirmed the strain. Crawford said he’d hoped to test it out Monday and had thought it might be a daytoday injury until the MRI results came back. He is optimistic he’ll be on the IL the minimum 10 days.

Crawford played in Tuesday’s AllStar Game at Denver, then flew to St. Louis and came out of Friday’s game in the eighth inning with hamstring cramping that required an IV.

He didn’t start the next day, although he did get a pinchhit walk, and he started in Sunday’s loss. He was tested frequently to make sure he was adequately hydrated throughout that game.

With Crawford out, Kapler said, Thairo Estrada will get the bulk of time at shortstop. Mauricio Dubón, who has started 29 games at short for the Giants over the past three seasons, is likely to remain at TripleA Sacramento, where he is playing shortstop and all three outfield positions.

“Estrada has earned the opportunity,” Kapler said. “I think this is much more about Estrada than it is about Mauricio.”

Crawford has liked what he’s seen of Estrada, who’s primarily played second base but also played two games at short for the Giants. Estrada was 10 for his past 29 entering Monday.

“He’s looked good everywhere, and everywhere you put him, he has good atbats,” Crawford said. “I would obviously rather be out there, but I think he can step in and be a good replacement.

“A big reason why we’ve had such a good record and why we’ve played so well is that it seems like when one guy goes down, somebody else steps in and fills in nicely.”

Utility player Jason Vosler, who was with the team as part of the taxi squad, was activated Monday.