Brandon Crawford is out of the Giants’ lineup Wednesday after spraining his right index and middle fingers in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game against San Diego. The shortstop was injured while sliding into second base, and was called out to add insult to injury. Joaquin Arias slid over from third and Nick Noonan entered the game, batting in Crawford’s No. 6 spot. Noonan reached base twice in a game the Giants went on to win 5-4.
Tag Archives: Tony Abreu
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.
SF Giants lineup: Posey sits against red-hot Padres
Buster Posey gets a full day of rest Monday after playing in all nine games of the Giants’ recent road trip. The reigning MVP caught eight of those games, spending Saturday’s game at first base. Posey collected 15 hits on the trip, raising his 2013 batting line to .316/.390/.515. His .905 OPS is tops among MLB catchers and seventh among all position players in the National League. Hector Sanchez gets his fifth start of the season behind the dish and his first since April 18th.
Sanchez caught Zito in 24 of his 32 starts last year, becoming somewhat of a personal catcher for the lefty. Bochy looks to exploit this comfort tonight at AT&T, where Zito has a 1.94 ERA on the season. He is 4-1 in home starts, to go along with an 0-4 road record and 11.28 ERA away from San Francisco.