San Francisco Giants: Cueto, Crawford Go Down with Injuries
San Francisco Giants star shortstop, Brandon Crawford, as well as their hottest starter, Johnny Cueto suffered injuries during Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The San Francisco Giants have been a train wreck in the second half of the season. But through that, they’ve relied on the health of their core players. That all changed in Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Brandon Crawford and Johnny Cueto left the game with injuries in a 2-0 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the second Crawford singled with two outs and tried to advance to third after a single by Brandon Belt. Dodgers’ outfielder, Andrew Toles, threw Crawford out who jammed his pinky on the bag. Crawford immediately reacted and held his hand while Giants’ manager, Bruce Bochy, and the team trainer ran to him.
“First, I was hoping it was just jammed,” Crawford said. “I went down to feel it and I could tell it was out of place.”
The x-rays showed no fracture so Crawford could return in a couple of days if he can manage the pain. He mentioned to SFGate that he doesn’t know when he will be able to swing a bat properly but that the glove-hand pinkie was probably a better one to dislocate.
The loss of Crawford even for a few days could be huge for a Giants team that is in a three-way tie for the wild card. He leads the Giants with 80 RBI and is one of the league’s best defenders.
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Johnny Cueto strained his left groin in the sixth inning after delivering a pitch. Cueto was pitching to Andrew Toles and claimed he felt it on the follow-through. After showing some discomfort, Giants manager Bruce Bochy had Cueto throw some test pitches. Cueto stayed in the game but only for two more pitches before motioning that he could not continue.
Currently, it’s unknown how severe Cueto’s injury is. Depending on his MRI exam scheduled for Wednesday, he may miss his final two starts against the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite losing two key players, the Giants still pulled out a win against their west coast rival. With their 2-0 victory, they created a three-way tie with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets for two Wild Card spots.
In an interview with SFGate, manager Bruce Bochy stated, “It’s going to be a fight…You hate to see what happened to Johnny and Craw. The one thing you want is good health, but we’ve got to move on and find a way to win, and we did tonight. We can’t dwell on the possibility of not having them.”
Next: NL Wild Card All Tied Up
The Giants can close out the series against the Dodgers with a win behind Matt Moore on Wednesday night. Moore’s last appearance in Dodger Stadium was a near no-hitter after Corey Seager hit a bloop single with two outs in the ninth. Meanwhile, the Giants have 11 games remaining to find a way to secure a Wild Card spot.