Game Notes: Belt Wins Final Vote, Plus Injury News

Published on by bentleonard18

By Ben Leonard
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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Brandon Belt has been named to the National League All-Star team, and perhaps his manager is one of the reasons why. Giants’ skipper Bruce Bochy texted in a couple of the 10.4 million votes cast for Belt in the annual final vote, perhaps helping him vault ahead of Pirates’ outfielder Starling Marte in one of the closest races ever.

“That’s great new,” Bochy said of the announcement Friday. “I couldn’t be happier for him…..I know he’s ecstatic and he should be. We’re very proud of him.”

According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman, Belt was enjoying a meal with his wife Haylee when he learned that he won the vote. While Belt presumably stayed stoic, Haylee couldn’t hold her emotions in. “I told her, ‘We’ve got to leave,” Belt said. “Can’t have you crying in a restaurant.”

He had earlier told MLB Network that he tried to stay on top of the news on the radio, but found out when his phone was faced with an onslaught of congratulatory texts.

The congratulations were well-earned — Belt is second in baseball with a 151 wRC+ season, behind only Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt (152).

Flying with Belt to San Diego for the 87th Midsummer Classic will be pitchers Johnny Cueto, Madison Bumgarner, and catcher Buster Posey.

Bochy Sees ‘Light At End of Tunnel’ With Injuries

For the injury-riddled Giants, the length of the disabled list as of late has been approaching short story lengths. Soon, it could be poem length, something that encourages Bochy.

Although there’s still no timetable on Hunter Pence’s return, he’s getting closer to returning from hamstring surgery after doing baseball activities today. Joining Pence in these activities were infielders Matt Duffy (Achilles) and Joe Panik (concussion), although Panik’s work was more on the light side, simply taking light grounders and hitting balls off the tee. None of the three will be back before the All-Star Break, but with outfielder Denard Span’s return to the lineup and Matt Cain throwing 65-70 pitches in a rehab start Friday, Bochy feels that the support the Giants need is coming soon.

“Yeah, we still have a little ways to go, but it’s good to seem them out here, just doing baseball activities out here,” Bochy said. “You have to be careful you don’t rush him because you want em back as soon as you can get um, but to see them at this point you do see the light at the end of the tunnel. It won’t be long.”

Samardizja Set to Take On Diamondbacks

The last time Giants’ pitcher Jeff Samardzija (8-5, 3.97) took the hill, he was dealt a tough-luck loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks after going 7.1 strong innings of four-run ball, exiting with a 5-3 lead. On Friday, he’ll try to exact some revenge against the very same D’Backs squad, a team he has fared well against in the past.

In five career starts against Arizona, Samardzija has posted a 3.38 ERA, giving up just one home run. He’s kept up that type of pitching against the rest of the NL West this season as well, going 5-2 with a 3.05 ERA in 62 innings against division rivals.

The same can’t be said about his team, which has dropped 10 of their last 11 games against Arizona at home.

In a rematch of his last start, Samardzija will face talented left-hander Patrick Corbin (4-6, 4.90), coming off a return from Tommy John surgery just over a year ago. He gave up five runs over 5.1 innings in his last start, but has dominated the Giants throughout his career.

Corbin’s ERA against San Francisco (3.47) doesn’t exactly encapsulate how stingy he has been — he holds a career 8.71 K/BB ratio against the club, behind only Colby Lewis’s 8.80 (vs. Houston) across he majors for the best figure against any one team.

Lineups: 

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Cover Image: San Francisco Giants’ Brandon Belt swings for an RBI single off Colorado Rockies’ Tyler Chatwood in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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