The San Francisco Giants’ Hunter Pence said it best after the Giants 5-1 win over the Colorodo Rockies on Wednesday night,
"“The win was great, but it’s a huge blow to lose Cain and Casilla.”"
Yes, it would be a huge blow to the Giants. Both starter Matt Cain and reliever Santiago Casilla suffered hamstring injuries during Wednesday’s win. Both players underwent MRI’s on Thursday and the results weren’t as bad as expected. The news was both good and bad for the Giants.
The MRI showed a Grade 2 hamstring strain on Casilla who was immediately place on the disabled list. Matt Cain’s injury was much less severe, only a Grade 1 strain. There is even a chance that Cain, who recently came off the disabled list after having cut his finger while making a sandwich, may be able to make his next scheduled start.
Wednesday night Cain seemed fine, just going about his business and getting hitters out. Towards the end of the third inning he said he felt a twinge in his hamstring. He was taken out of the game and replaced by Yusmeiro Petit.
Casilla was injured while trying to run out an infield grounder during the top of the ninth inning. There were two outs and he was apparently told not to swing by Giants manager Bruce Bochy. As he ran towards first he fell, rolled over the bag and on the field a few times. Casilla had to be helped off of the field by trainers.
Casilla and Bochy both took responsibility for the incident. Casilla said,’
"“My adrenaline got going and I took off.”"
Bochy let Casilla hit so that he could go to Jeremy Affeldt in the bottom of the ninth. No one on the staff actually thought that Casilla would try and hit, let alone run. Bochy is planning to have a meeting with all the pitchers regarding the situation soon, whether they are starters or relievers. Bochy told the press,
"“I take responsibility. I should have called timeout and said that’s it, you’re not going to swing again, after the foul ball. But these guys love it. The relievers live for that. He’s always joking around and walking with a bat in his hand and going, ‘You’re going to let me hit? Let me hit.’ You think it’s low risk, but it’s like these guys have to touch the stove to find out. We’ve got to learn from this. Be smart and realize we’re not looking for you to beat out an infield hit.”"
Lucky for the Giants they only lost one pitcher and not two. It is still unclear if Cain will make his next start but it does not look like he will be going back onto the disabled list. Casilla will be reevaluated after his time on the disabled list has been completed.