Category Archives: injury

SF Giants lineup: Scutaro returns, Perez gets another start

Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro returns to the lineup after missing a week with “mallet finger”. Scoots was struck by a pitch in Pittsburgh, sustaining ligament damage in his pinky finger. The Giants elected to not put their second baseman under the knife and therefore on the disabled list, choosing to let the veteran play through the pain. Tony Abreu and Nick Noonan had been filling in, and will be reserves in tonight’s game against San Diego.

With Angel Pagan set to come off the DL in a few days, the Giants corresponding roster move will likely to be sending Nick Noonan to Triple-A. As a young player, he would benefit from reps that a starting gig can provide. Though hobbled by a leg injury, Abreu has outplayed Noonan and wouldn’t need to be fully healthy to succeed in a utility role. Besides, you tell Juan Perez his defense hasn’t justified a roster spot.

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Angel Pagan injury update: Giants center fielder expects a rehab assignment

Giants center fielder Angel Pagan appears close to returning but expects to have a minor-league rehab assignment, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area. Despite a cortisone shot, the hamstring has not healed and he has been unable to run the bases pain-free. Alex Pavlovic of the Merc reports that manager Bruce Bochy says Pagan will get 10-15 at-bats in the minors.

Speed is a large part of Pagan’s game, both on the basepaths and roaming center field. The 31-year-old has 130 career stolen bases and 43 triples, with 15 of those coming last season. The latter is a San Francisco Giants record and led all of Major League Baseball.

The Giants haven’t been entire helpless without Pagan, as Gregor Blanco has mirrored Pagan’s production sans a bit of power. Blanco has an OBP of .341 and plays all positions in the outfield well, but has just one home run in 251 plate appearances.

But Blanco (and Andres Torres, for that matter) haven’t been alone in stepping up. Recent call-up Juan Perez has played stellar defense in his first career cup of coffee, making a running catch into the fence that will certainly make the Giants end-of-the-year highlight reel. He has also flashed some acumen with the bat, notching five hits in his first 11 at-bats.

Marco Scutaro injury update, plus Wednesday’s lineup

Marco Scutaro left Tuesday’s game against the Pirates after being struck on the hand by a 94 MPH fastball in the seventh inning. Now, he has “mallet finger” in his pinky according to Alex Pavlovic of the Merc. Mallet finger is damage to a tendon and if you know what’s good for you, you won’t Google it.

The Giants will talk to Scutaro and discuss their options. Pavlovic mentioned there is a small possibility that Scutaro could play through the pain and avoid the disabled list, where the Giants are forming an All-Star team. Ryan Vogelsong, Pablo Sandoval and Angel Pagan are all currently out, meaning if Scutaro is out the Giants are missing a starting pitcher and their 1-2-3 hitters. Eesh.

After a slow start, Scutaro has begin to justify the contract he got from the San Francisco Giants in the off-season. The second baseman is hitting .332/.388/.444 for an OPS+ of 141. Continued success at that rate this year would nearly match his career high OPS+ of 144, which he logged in 2012 at the age of 36. Whoa. He’s getting better.

Here’s the lineup for Wednesday against LHP Francisco Liriano (4-2, 1.75 ERA):

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