Giants' Jerar Encarnacion exits with injury after crushing 442-foot homer in win at Pittsburgh
The next, it seemed, Encarnacion was leaving with what looked to be a hamstring injury, grabbing his leg as he crossed first base in the seventh. The outfielder had just come off the injured list on Monday and has missed 99 games while out with a broken hand and then an oblique strain.
For a team struggling to score runs, a near-certain third IL stint for Encarnacion is gut-wrenching, but the Giants made do without him in a 4-2 victory over the Pirates that gave them their second road series win in a row.
Encarnacion homered in the fifth, but the Giants didn't score again until the eighth, when Patrick Bailey opened the inning with a pinch-hit single, Rafael Devers drew his second walk of the day, Willy Adames singled and Matt Chapman launched a sacrifice fly.
More For You
Giants' new-look lineup pounds Pirates as Logan Webb notches his 10th win
Ex-manager Jim Leyland's thoughts on Giants' Justin Verlander? 'I was impressed'
In the ninth, the team got some superb at-bats against Dennis Santana. Jung Hoo Lee ripped a one-out double, then Dominic Smith got down 0-2 before delivering a pinch-hit RBI double down the first-base line to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Bailey singled to send in Smith and provide a bit of padding.
'We talk about playing like we did earlier in the year, and that's what we did off the good relievers, quality at-bats,' manager Bob Melvin said. 'Obviously Dom's was huge. Bailey coming off the bench to get two hits, driving runs, that's a good recipe for us that showed up again today. It's been lacking for a little while. Hopefully it continues.'
Giants 4, Pirates 2
San Francisco AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Totals 33 4 7 4 2 4
Ramos lf 5 0 1 0 0 1.274
Devers dh 2 0 0 0 2 0.225
Adames ss 4 0 1 0 0 1.232
Chapman 3b 3 0 0 1 0 1.229
Schmitt 1b-2b 4 0 0 0 0 1.249
Encarnación rf 3 1 1 1 0 0.167
McCray rf 1 0 0 0 0 0.143
Lee cf 4 1 1 0 0 0.258
Koss 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0.257
d-Smith ph-1b 1 1 1 1 0 0.271
Knizner c 2 0 0 0 0 0.160
b-Bailey ph-c 2 1 2 1 0 0.213
Pittsburgh AB R H BI BB SO Avg.
Totals 33 2 8 2 2 11
Peguero 1b 2 1 0 0 1 2.237
a-Horwitz ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 0.262
Pham lf 2 0 1 1 1 1.269
Reynolds rf 4 0 0 0 0 2.236
Gonzales 2b 4 0 3 1 0 1.279
McCutchen dh 4 0 2 0 0 1.249
Bart c 3 0 0 0 0 3.239
c-Cruz ph 1 0 0 0 0 1.208
Davis c 0 0 0 0 0 0.164
Canario cf 3 0 0 0 0 0.205
e-Suwinski ph 1 0 0 0 0 0.118
Triolo ss 4 0 1 0 0 0.168
Kiner-Falefa 3b 4 1 1 0 0 0.270
San Francisco 000 010 012_4 7 0
Pittsburgh 100 010 000_2 8 0
a-popped out for Peguero in the 7th. b-singled for Knizner in the 8th. c-struck out for Bart in the 8th. d-doubled for Koss in the 9th. e-lined out for Canario in the 9th.
LOB_San Francisco 7, Pittsburgh 7. 2B_Lee (27), Smith (7), Triolo (7). HR_Encarnación (2), off Heaney. RBIs_Encarnación (2), Chapman (43), Smith (19), Bailey (34), Gonzales (19), Pham (32). SB_Koss (3), Kiner-Falefa (14). SF_Chapman, Pham.
Runners left in scoring position_San Francisco 4 (Ramos, Schmitt 3); Pittsburgh 3 (Peguero, Bart, Cruz). RISP_San Francisco 3 for 9; Pittsburgh 1 for 6.
Runners moved up_Adames, Reynolds. GIDP_Reynolds.
DP_San Francisco 1 (Adames, Koss, Schmitt).
San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Ray 6 6 2 2 2 8 104 2.85
Buttó 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0.00
Walker, W, 4-4 1 2 0 0 0 3 29 4.05
Rodríguez, S, 3-6 1 0 0 0 0 0 13 1.51
Pittsburgh IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
Heaney 4 2-3 2 1 1 0 1 76 4.77
Moreta 2-3 0 0 0 1 2 18 0.00
Mlodzinski, H, 2 1 2-3 0 0 0 0 1 14 4.11
Mattson, H, 4 1-3 2 1 1 1 0 13 2.36
Santana, L, 3-4, BS, 6-8 1 1-3 3 2 2 0 0 22 2.57
Borucki 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 5 4.88
Inherited runners-scored_Moreta 1-0, Mlodzinski 1-0, Santana 3-1, Borucki 1-0. HBP_Heaney 2 (Devers,Koss). WP_Ray, Mlodzinski.
Umpires_Home, Lance Barksdale; First, Will Little; Second, Ryan Additon; Third, Ryan Wills.
T_2:52. A_14,005 (38,753).
Encarnacion's likely loss still stings, especially with much of the rest of the lineup coming alive. Encarnacion's homer Wednesday, at 442 feet the second longest by a Giants hitter this season and the longest outside of Coors Field, accounted for San Francisco's first run; Adames hit the team's longest homer of the season, a 452-foot shot at Colorado on June 11.
Encarnacion will get an MRI on Thursday. 'It doesn't look good,' Melvin said. 'You get hurt in spring training, you're playing catch-up all the time to get him back, now he finally gets enough at-bats and we see the type of at-bats we've been wanting from him, especially off left-handed pitching, and he's going to be down for a while now, unfortunately. Just ends up being a, so far, really tough year for him.'
Giants starter Robbie Ray didn't have a perfect day, walking two to start things off and giving up one run as a result, but he limited the damage well. A double play and a strikeout helped him squirm out of the first, and the only other run off him, in the fifth, came when Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled, stole second and scored on Tommy Pham's sacrifice fly. Ray went six innings, gave up six hits, the two walks and two runs and struck out eight. José Buttó and Ryan Walker worked scoreless innings and Randy Rodriguez, coming off a blown save Monday, had a 1-2-3 ninth.
Wilmer Flores, who turned 34 Wednesday, remained out of the starting lineup because of hamstring tightness, especially notable in a game against a left-handed starter. The team still believes Flores will avoid the IL, given Thursday's off day, but it's reasonable to assume there are also provisions in case he needs to miss more time and now the Giants have to consider a replacement for Encarnacion.
While he's left-handed, so not necessarily a perfect match for Encarnacion or Flores, top prospect Bryce Eldridge is making a major push at Triple-A Sacramento, hitting .333 with eight homers, 24 RBIs and seven walks over his past 13 games. His 26 RBIs since July 18 are the most in the PCL.
President of baseball operations Buster Posey is a big believer in promoting players when they earn it, and Eldridge is Sacramento's hottest hitter. He might not be quite ready to play first base, but Devers can serve as the lefty option at that spot and Eldridge could get at least some big-league at-bats at DH while Flores is out. It's purely speculation at this point, because the roster fit is awkward, but his hot streak makes Eldridge an exciting option. Fun to consider, if not the most realistic choice.
A more likely left-handed hitting option — and he's an outfielder — is newly acquired outfielder Drew Gilbert, from the Tyler Rogers deal with the Mets. He's 6 for his first 12 with four walks and a steal at Triple-A Sacramento. The right-handed options are a pretty well-known crew: Luis Matos, Marco Luciano and Tyler Fitzgerald.
The Giants aren't listing a starter for Friday's game against the Nationals at Oracle Park, but Kai-Wei Teng remains on the roster and would at this point be the man to get the bulk of the innings, even if the team uses an opener. Landen Roupp (elbow) will pitch a bullpen session in the next day or two, and if that goes well he'll make one rehab outing before returning to the rotation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Canzone's walk-off single in 11th completes Mariners' sweep of White Sox
SEATTLE (AP) — Dominic Canzone singled home the winning run in the 11th inning and the Seattle Mariners completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox with a 4-3 victory Thursday. Randy Arozarena hit an early two-run homer for the Mariners, who swept a series for the first time since July 11-13. They moved within 1 1/2 games of first-place Houston in the AL West. Michael A. Taylor and Brooks Baldwin each had a solo homer for the White Sox, who lead the majors with 37 home runs since the All-Star break. Both teams scored once in the 10th. Lenyn Sosa raced home on a wild pitch from Seattle reliever Eduard Bazardo with the bases loaded to give Chicago a 3-2 lead. But in the bottom half, a throwing error by third baseman Josh Rojas on Miles Mastrobuoni's sacrifice bunt allowed Arozarena to score the tying run. ATHLETICS 6, NATIONALS 0 WASHINGTON (AP) — Jacob Lopez struck out a career-high 10 batters in 7 2/3 innings, Colby Thomas hit his first major league home run and drove in three, and the Athletics defeated Washington. Tyler Soderstrom also homered for the Athletics, who took two of three from Washington and have won nine of their last 13. The Nationals have lost seven of eight and at 45-69 are tied for a season-high 24 games under .500. Washington was outscored 61-23 during its six-game homestand against Milwaukee and the A's. Lopez (5-6) didn't allow a runner past second in the longest outing of his career. He allowed three hits and no walks, and retired his last 11 batters. Thomas, who debuted June 30 and was playing his 17th career game, ripped Mitchell Parker's elevated fastball to center for a two-run homer in the second inning. Shea Langeliers hit a sacrifice fly three batters later to make it 3-0. Darell Hernaiz hit a triple into the corner in left to lead off the fourth, then scored on Thomas' sacrifice fly. Soderstrom opened the eighth with a shot into the Nationals' bullpen in right off PJ Poulin. Parker (7-12) allowed four runs and struck out four in five innings. PIRATES 7, REDS 0 PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes struck out eight in six shutout innings, Bryan Reynolds and Henry Davis homered and Pittsburgh defeated Cincinnati. Skenes (7-8) allowed seven hits, the highest mark of his career, and remained undefeated against Cincinnati in four career starts. His record streak of allowing six or fewer hits to open an MLB career ended at 46 games. The longest such streak to begin a career (excluding openers), according to OptaStats, had belonged to Shohei Ohtani, who went 31 starts from 2018-21 for the Los Angeles Angels. Skenes extended his scoreless streak to 27 2/3 innings; he last allowed a run June 8 against Philadelphia. He lowered his ERA to a MLB-best 1.94. Reynolds opened the scoring with solo homer with two-out in the bottom of the first, and Jared Triolo drove in two more runs. In their last seven games, the Pirates have scored 18 runs in the first. Spencer Horwitz extended Pittsburgh's lead with an RBI single in the fourth. Two batters later, Reynolds' two-out single chased Cincinnati's Brady Singer (9-9), who allowed six hits and four runs in 3 2/3 innings. Oneil Cruz added an RBI single in the sixth, and Davis hit a two-run shot in the seventh. Ke'Bryan Hayes went 1 for 3 in his return to Pittsburgh after a deadline trade sent him to Cincinnati. ATLANTA (AP) — Drake Baldwin homered twice and drove in five runs, Marcell Ozuna also went deep and Atlanta rallied past Miami. Ozuna and Baldwin each had three hits for the Braves, who snapped a three-game skid after trailing 6-2 in the sixth inning. Miami has dropped three of four since winning five straight and nine of 11. Baldwin and Ozuna launched back-to-back solo homers with two outs in the first, the seventh time Atlanta has hit consecutive home runs this season and first since June 5. Miami answered quickly, scoring five runs in the second capped by Eric Wagaman's two-run triple and Graham Pauley's two-run homer. Jakob Marsee had an RBI single. Agustín Ramírez added an RBI single for the Marlins in the fourth.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Skenes strikes out 8 in 6 shutout innings as Pirates beat Reds 7-0
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes struck out eight in six shutout innings, Bryan Reynolds and Henry Davis homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds 7-0 on Thursday night. Skenes (7-8) allowed seven hits, the highest mark of his career, and remained undefeated against Cincinnati in four career starts. His record streak of allowing six or fewer hits to open an MLB career ended at 46 games. The longest such streak to begin a career (excluding openers), according to OptaStats, had belonged to Shohei Ohtani, who went 31 starts from 2018-21 for the Los Angeles Angels. Skenes extended his scoreless streak to 27 2/3 innings; he last allowed a run June 8 against Philadelphia. He lowered his ERA to a MLB-best 1.94. Reynolds opened the scoring with solo homer with two-out in the bottom of the first, and Jared Triolo drove in two more runs. In their last seven games, the Pirates have scored 18 runs in the first. Spencer Horwitz extended Pittsburgh's lead with an RBI single in the fourth. Two batters later, Reynolds' two-out single chased Cincinnati's Brady Singer (9-9), who allowed six hits and four runs in 3 2/3 innings. Oneil Cruz added an RBI single in the sixth, and Davis hit a two-run shot in the seventh. Ke'Bryan Hayes went 1 for 3 in his return to Pittsburgh after a deadline trade sent him to Cincinnati. After Reynolds' homer in the first, Singer walked three straight batters, setting Jared Triolo up for a bases-loaded single that drove in two runs and put the Pirates ahead to stay. Key stat Skenes hasn't allowed an earned run in Pittsburgh since June 3, against Houston. He hasn't allowed an earned run against the Reds since June 17, 2024, in Cincinnati. Up next Cincinnati RHP Chase Burns (0-3, 6.04) faces Pittsburgh RHP Mitch Keller (5-10, 3.89) in the second game of the four-game series. ___
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Golden State Warriors jersey history - No. 20 - Phil Smith (1974-80)
The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history. Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the eighth of 29 players who wore the No. 20 jersey for the Warriors. That player would be Golden State guard alum Phil Smith. After ending his college career at USF, Smith was picked up with the 29th overall selection of the 1974 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. The San Francisco, California native would play the first six seasons of his pro career with the Dubs, coming to an end when he was dealt to the (then) San Diego (now, Los Angeles) Clippers in 1980. During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Smith wore only jersey No. 20 and put up 17.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference. This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors jersey history - No. 20 - Phil Smith (1974-80)
