Giants' Kevin Gausman scratched from start with elbow tightness

The Giants scratched Kevin Gausman from Sunday scheduled start against the Padres with elbow tightness, per various reporters, including Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic. He’ll head for an MRI as a precaution, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, but he’s not going on the injured list at this point. Gausman initially felt some discomfort playing catch a few days ago and woke up with some soreness this morning, relays Schulman.

Surely, the hope is that Gausman will avoid a serious problem and return in short order. The stakes are quite high for both player and team, though. At 23-22, San Francisco holds the seventh seed in the National League, with a two-game cushion on the Rockies for the final playoff spot. The Giants’ surprisingly solid performance is to some credit of Gausman, who has turned in 46.2 innings of 4.05 ERA/3.54 FIP ball this year. Quietly, the former Oriole has racked up strikeouts at a 32 percent clip, the 11th-highest rate among qualified starters. Certainly, he has more than made good on the club’s buy-low $9M investment this offseason. A healthy Gausman would be a part of the Giants’ playoff rotation if they hang on to a postseason spot.

It’s also highly important for Gausman personally to finish the season at full strength. He will return to the open market this winter in advance of his age-30 season. Between his strong platform year and youth, he’d be well-positioned in a market thin on high-end starting pitching.

Logan Webb will slide up in the rotation in Gausman’s place this evening. The 23-year-old has a 5.23 ERA/3.68 FIP in nine starts this year.