Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Giants made a few transactions entering a series in Oakland that begins Friday, but the most hopeful is one they did not make.
Mike Yastrzemski is not on the IL, even if it was a consideration, and the Giants will count on his mild right calf strain healing relatively quickly to let their best player back into their lineup.
Gabe Kapler said it could be “one, two, three days or more” without Yastrzemski, a peek into how uncertain they are about his calf, and San Francisco did not summon any outfield cover in the meantime.
That means that an already thin unit will bat Alex Dickerson first and play him in left, go with Mauricio Dubon in center and, most concerningly, ask Darin Ruf to play right field, a position he’s seen for two innings this season.
“I don’t think it’s the most comfortable outfield configuration right now,” Kapler allowed over Zoom before Logan Webb and Chris Bassitt were set to face off. “… I don’t think Ruf and Dick are Gold Glove winners, but they both worked really hard for this moment, to be able to step up and play solid D for us.”
If all goes well and the Giants pull ahead, it’s a configuration that won’t last long.
“There may come a time in tonight’s game when we try to upgrade and get Basabe out there,” Kapler said of Luis, the outfield prospect acquired from the White Sox. “Right now, the way the roster sits with Yaz likely not being available tonight, this is what we’re choosing to go with.”
To add another twist, Dickerson could leave at any moment to care for his wife, whose due date is nearing. And the spacious Coliseum outfield is not the best spot to test either his or Ruf’s legs. Both outfielders have described themselves as players who can make the plays that they get to, the ones “I’m supposed to make,” Ruf said.
Webb should not expect much else for balls hit into the outfield corners. Of course, having Ruf’s bat — which is surprisingly 6-for-17 (.353) with a homer and three walks against righties — makes his inclusion sensible.
“I just have to trust my eyes and my reads, just like I would in left field,” said Ruf, who played some right in his early years in the majors with the Phillies. “Try not to do too much.”
On the pitching side, the fallout is not because of injury but because of anger, from both Tyler Anderson and Thursday’s home-plate ump, Edwin Moscoso, who tossed Anderson in the third inning. The Giants had to ask Wandy Peralta to throw three innings, which he did without allowing a hit or run, and he was rewarded by being demoted the next day.
The Giants need fresh arms, especially in a late-season schedule that is unforgiving. Rico Garcia, who had thrown a solid inning two days in a row, also was sent down as Shaun Anderson and Andrew Suarez were recalled.
“It’s very difficult,” Kapler said of his conversation with Peralta, who has a 3.91 ERA in 23 innings. “He earned a lot of respect yesterday — and throughout the season, the way he’s taken the ball. He hasn’t quite been perfect by any stretch, nobody has. But he has certainly been tough, and he has been enthusiastic about taking the ball in any situation, going through lefties and righties.”