The SF Giants collectively held their breath during Wednesday night's 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres when outfielder Mike Yastrzemski was pulled from the game with left hamstring tightness. It was easy to envision Yastrzemski, who spent two weeks on the injured list with a left hamstring strain earlier this season, heading back to the injured list. However, the team is optimistic that he will be able to return to the lineup at some point this week after positive results from a scan on Thursday morning.
"It's not Grade 1, which is good," Yastrzemski told reporters on Thursday morning. "Just like a little inflammation and swelling... Hopefully, it will be the best-case scenario."
Yastrzemski has been one of the Giants' most consistent contributors when healthy this season, hitting .259/.324/.482 with 12 doubles, a triple, and 10 home runs in 55 games. A team leader, Yastrzemski has arguably been the Giants' most consistent player since he joined the team in 2019. In fact, he is the only player on the roster who has hit double-digit home runs in each of the past five seasons.
"He said he's feeling really good," manager Gabe Kapler said about Yaz during his pregame media availability on Thursday. "Moving around he feels fine, and I think under the circumstances of what we saw in last night's game, where you really got the sense that he had reinjured that hamstring and this was gonna be a problem for a long period of time, I don't want to say that we're completely out of the woods, but this feels less serious than that. We have the idea that perhaps he's ready to play for us in the next couple of days."
With the Giants in the middle of a 10-game winning streak, Yastrzemski is obviously disappointed to miss any opportunity to contribute. However, he recognized that the team is relying on him to be a key contributor well into a postseason run.
"The team's rolling, so I want to be as much a part of that as possible," Yaz said. "But obviously, it makes more sense to try and be available for the long haul and try and avoid doing anything stupid."
The SF Giants recalled outfielder Bryce Johnson from Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday, optioning right-handed pitcher Sean Hjelle to help them cover the outfield while Mike Yastrzemski is unavailable. Nevertheless, the team is glad that it appears a key piece will not need to miss significant time.
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