The Giants got a walk-off, ground-rule double from Casey Schmitt Sunday afternoon in a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds, but even that failed to rose tint their outlook. San Francisco is four games under .500, and lost its most exciting player, Jung Hoo Lee, to a shoulder injury.
Lee, who had been out since Wednesday after fouling a ball off on his foot, returned to the lineup, and jumped heroically for a bases-clearing Jeimer Candelario double that bounced off the right-center field fence.
He immediately left the game with a separated shoulder. Manager Bob Melvin offered little consolation or hope that it would not be an extended absence. There is an MRI coming Monday to assess the extent of the injury, but Melvin's answer was telling.
"Not great," Melvin said. "When he hit the wall and he went down and didn't get up, I didn't have a great feeling about it."
Separated shoulders have a wide range of timelines for recovery. They can range from days to months depending on whether surgery is required. Lee will be out, it's just an open-ended question of how long.
The injury is another in the litany the Giants are currently facing. Before the game, Patrick Bailey was ruled out with a viral illness, and Michael Conforto was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.
In the last week alone, San Francisco has lost Jorge Soler to a right shoulder strain, Nick Ahmed to a left wrist sprain, Tom Murphy to a left knee sprain, and Austin Slater to a concussion.
Oh, and it's time to host the Dodgers for the next three games. It's a massive moment for the likes of Heliot Ramos, Luis Matos, Casey Schmitt and possibly Marco Luciano. If they want to stick, it's a chance rife with opportunity.
