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The Giants do not believe it is serious, but Wilmer Flores has a concern with a hamstring that already forced him to the injured list once.
The infielder, who missed time in late May with a right hamstring strain, left Tuesday’s game early because his right hamstring was “a little bit tight,” Gabe Kapler said, and Mauricio Dubon is the Giants’ third baseman Wednesday.
“Flores could have played today,” the manager said before the Kevin Gausman-Shohei Ohtani face-off at Angel Stadium. “But we just thought it was best to give him today off and tomorrow off back to back because he’s so important to our club.”
Especially of late. Flores has become an everyday player in the wake of Evan Longoria’s injury and caught fire, including three home runs in his previous two games. After a slow start to his season, the 29-year-old is slashing .314/.368/.608 in 57 plate appearances this month and looking more like the power bat the Giants saw last year.
This week the Giants optioned Jason Vosler, who could have been a lefty complement to Flores at third, and they suddenly are thin at the position. Dubon replaced Flores late in Tuesday’s game, too, and while he’s a great athlete, the Giants would prefer not to rely upon him at the spot.
And behind him would be … Donovan Solano? The Giants’ active roster is short on infield depth, with just Dubon, Solano, Flores and Brandon Crawford able to play up the middle or at third, while they have six outfielders.
Still, Flores’ bat would be missed most if the hamstring becomes more serious.
“I think Flores is among our most consistent hitters and brings among our most consistent at-bats,” Kapler said of a normally middle-of-the-lineup weapon. “Very tough out. Can get the bat on a lot of balls, sometimes off the plate, to spoil pitchers’ pitches, but then he can also be extremely disciplined at times. There isn’t a pitch from a right-handed or left-handed pitcher that he can’t handle.”
The hope is he can be ready for Friday’s game at Oracle Park against the A’s, but it will be worth watching.
Kapler was not thrilled with Tuesday’s strike zone, called by Doug Eddings. Kapler talked about it with Austin Slater, who was punched out on a 3-2 pitch far out of the zone. The manager also mentioned a second-inning strikeout of Darin Ruf on a pitch that was down and away.
“All of us were frustrated about them,” said Kapler, who wants his hitters to continue the approach and not offer defensive, two-strike swings. “…They’re not going to feel good about that when they walk into the dugout, but the next day we can look back and say, ‘That was a good quality plate appearance with good swing decisions,’ and over the course of time that’s going to lead to good results.”
Umpire: Doug Eddings
Final: Angels 0, Giants 5#WeBelieve // #ResilientSF#LAAvsSF // #SFvsLAA pic.twitter.com/By2Cm9q1Fg— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) June 23, 2021
Aaron Sanchez was scheduled to make a fourth rehab start Tuesday but did not because he experienced a blister issue again recently upon playing catch. The righty has been out since May 4 with biceps tightness, but a blister on his middle finger forced him out of Thursday’s rehab start with Triple-A Sacramento. Sanchez has a history of blister troubles, which limited his 2017 season to 36 innings.
“He’s feeling better. His next outing is going to depend on the status of that blister,” Kapler said.