SF Giants notebook: Why Belt, Estrada are out of lineup vs. Cardinals
Belt (neck stiffness) was scratched after initially being penciled in to the lineup, but he isn't concerned. Estrada received his first day off of the season, after logging every inning so far at second base.
SAN FRANCISCO — Would Brandon Belt return to the Giants’ lineup Sunday? It was a question that even manager Gabe Kapler didn’t know the answer to, at least initially.
Neck stiffness forced Belt from Saturday’s 13-7 win in the middle of an at-bat in the eighth inning. Upon walking into the clubhouse Sunday morning, Belt said that his status for the series finale would be dependent on his pregame treatment. The Giants issued one lineup, with Belt batting second and playing first base. Then they issued another, without Belt.
“If it’s not today, I’ll be back in there tomorrow,” Belt said.
It was not Sunday, as Darin Ruf replaced Belt at first base in the second and final lineup issued by the Giants.
Despite the late scratch, Kapler said he was confident Belt would be available to pinch-hit if called upon, though “that’s going to be dependent on how he’s feeling as the day goes on.”
That is the textbook definition of day-to-day, anyway.
Belt was playing his first game back from a bout with COVID-19, marking the Giants’ final player to recover and return to the clubhouse after an outbreak that encompassed five players. He had drawn walks in his first three trips to the plate and grounded out to first base before swinging through a 2-1 pitch in the eighth inning and grimacing while grabbing at his neck.
The feeling was familiar to Belt, who said he’s dealt with neck stiffness every year of his baseball career that he can remember.
“Usually it just happens in spring training,” Belt said. “It’s almost a part of getting into baseball shape for me.”
Belt’s COVID-19 infection was the second time he caught the virus, after contracting it in January 2021, too.
This time, Belt said, “it was a little bit worse. … I didn’t even know I had it the first time.”
His symptoms were mostly minor — similar to a cold or allergies, he said — but with the added factor of being sapped of any energy. He still managed to make it to Oracle Park to work out, though, in the mornings before others arrived.
“I tried to do as much as possible,” Belt said. “We were able to come to the field before everybody got here and do some stuff outside. That was pretty much the extent of what I could do was just throw and hit and run. It was enough to keep me going.”
Belt was 5-for-16 at the plate before landing on the COVID IL, but Saturday was his first game in more than a week. Could the extended layoff have contributed to the neck stiffness?
“It could have,” Belt said, though he remained unconcerned about his status.
“I’ve dealt with this so much I know what’s going to happen,” he said. “It’s going to loosen up after the first day or two. It’ll be three days max.”
Said Kapler: “It shouldn’t surprise anyone to see him back in the lineup tomorrow.”
Iron Man Estrada finally gets a day off
Every inning this season, Thairo Estrada has manned second base. Until Sunday.
For the first time this season, Estrada received a day off as Mauricio Dubon got the nod at second base. He had played every inning of all of the Giants’ first 27 games, batting .240/.278/.360 with 16 RBIs, second only to Wilmer Flores (19) for the team lead.
“It’s just one of those preemptive strikes, coming off a really impressive Dubon game,” Kapler said. “There’s a pretty strong sentiment that we should get him off his feet, at least to start the game. … Sometimes it’s just nice to let the brain relax as the game begins. For Thairo, I think that’s going to go a long way for him.”
Estrada has diligently filled in for the injured Tommy La Stella, who continued his rehab assignment Sunday. La Stella is still several days away “in the very best-case scenario,” Kapler said, but when he does return, the Giants will have to decide how they want to utilize La Stella with Estrada, a player Kapler in the past has said they want to have an everyday role.
“We haven’t had a problem with stuff like that in the past,” Kapler said. “We’ll find ways to get him his reps and get Tommy his. … We’re going to find ways to utilize Thairo’s athleticism. He can move around the diamond a little bit.”
Giants set rotation
Without Anthony DeSclafani, the Giants have had to get creative with their rotation, deploying a bullpen game Thursday night in their series opener with the Cardinals and calling up right-hander Jakob Junis from Triple-A Sacramento to start their series finale Sunday.
The rotation shuffle has resulted in Kapler deciding his starters on a series-by-series basis.
On Sunday, Kapler named the three pitchers who will take the hill for the Giants when they host the Rockies for three games starting Monday. Colorado has yet to announce its probable starters.
Monday: Carlos Rodón
Tuesday: Alex Wood
Wednesday: Alex Cobb
Roster move
To activate Junis for his start Sunday, the Giants optioned reliever Gregory Santos back to Triple-A Sacramento. Santos, 22, was called up before Thursday’s game and threw 1⅔ scoreless innings that night in his only MLB appearance this season.