D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Yastrzemski doesn’t know, either.
He feels “a little bit better” a day after his right calf tightened up, an MRI showing he has a mild strain. But this is uncharted territory for a 30-year-old who hasn’t had a calf injury like this.
In the second pitch of his first-inning at-bat Thursday, he took a pitch but strided all the same and “felt like a jolt, kind of cramp in my calf” that wouldn’t go away. He told Gabe Kapler and the medical team and was removed during the second inning.
The Giants are nine days away from closing the regular season, which is partly why they have not placed their best player on the injured list. They hope it can heal and they can welcome back their leadoff hitter and right fielder, but Kapler acknowledged it could be “one, two, three days or more.”
Yastrzemski said he would like to avoid the IL and is hopeful that the calf will improve quickly, but he acknowledged the uncertainty and the poor timing, the Giants with 11 games left. He has played in all 49 contests to this point.
“If I can’t go, I can’t go, which is unfortunate,” Yastrzemski said over Zoom before the Giants began a series in Oakland on Friday. “But hopefully just get healthy as soon as possible, and I know these guys have been working so hard and they’re going to keep playing their tails off. I have all the confidence in the world in them to make sure that I get another chance to play this year.”
The regular-season concludes Sept. 27 and the Giants, if they hold onto a wild-card spot, would begin a series Sept. 30. Yastrzemski was off to treatment shortly after the media session and did not want to speculate much beyond that.
Without Yastrzemski, the Giants (for now) are staying pat and will field a suspect defense Friday. Kapler cited Steven Duggar and Daniel Robertson among those considered for a possible call-up and then was asked about Jaylin Davis and Chris Shaw, who is more seen as a first baseman.
Kapler said Davis’ at-bats “have gotten better” in Sacramento but said they prefer a lefty bat. Robertson bats righty.