The San Francisco Giants hope a strained hamstring suffered by hot-hitting LaMonte Wade Jr. doesn’t stall their offensive momentum as they continue a three-game series against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.
Five different Giants players collected two hits apiece while three drove in a pair of runs each in a 12-hit assault on Phillies pitching in an 8-4 triumph in the series opener Monday.
Down 4-3 in the fifth and with a runner on and no outs, Wade doubled to right and injured the hamstring as he slid into second base. He was immediately removed from the game and helped into the dugout before going straight to the clubhouse.
Giants manager Bob Melvin disclosed afterward that Wade would get an MRI exam on Tuesday and that he “almost for sure” would be headed to the injured list.
“Not ideal. He’s hitting .330-something. Not too many guys can do what he does,” Melvin said. “He’s not just a good left-handed hitter. He’s one of the best in the game at this point.”
Wade is batting a career-high .333 with 55 total bases and 22 runs.
The Giants didn’t skip a beat after Wade’s injury. In fact, five of their eight runs came after he left the lineup.
Brett Wisely was one of the Giants who helped take up the slack, driving in two runs with a single and a double from the No. 9 spot. Promoted from Triple-A Sacramento on May 12, the shortstop has nine hits in his past four games.
The Giants have followed his lead, totaling 76 runs in their past 10 games. They have won nine of their past 11.
Wisely, Mike Yastrzemski and Heliot Ramos combined for five hits and six RBIs out of the last three spots in the lineup Monday, something Melvin said will be crucial if the club loses Wade — who hits at or near the top of the order — for any significant amount of time.
“For us to succeed, we have to get contributions everywhere,” he said. “When you have guys swinging well at the bottom of the lineup, it seems like every inning you have a chance to score.”
Melvin left the stadium Monday without naming a starting pitcher for the second game of the series. Veteran left-hander Drew Pomeranz, signed Friday, has yet to take the mound for the Giants and is an option.
Pomeranz hasn’t appeared in a major league game since 2021 due to multiple surgeries.
The Phillies have lined up right-hander Zack Wheeler (6-3, 2.53 ERA) for the rematch. He had a season-high 11 strikeouts in a 6-1 win over the Giants on May 6 in Philadelphia and didn’t allow an earned run in seven innings.
The effort improved Wheeler’s career record against the Giants, who drafted him with the sixth overall pick in 2009, to 3-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 starts.
The win over the Giants was part of a current seven-game unbeaten streak in which the 33-year-old has gone 6-0 with a 2.27 ERA.
The Phillies have injury issues of their own. Standout shortstop Trea Turner was supposed to amp up running drills in San Francisco as he attempts to return from a hamstring strain. But he woke up sore after a session Saturday in Colorado, and manager Rob Thomson said he’ll get some time off.
“How long, I don’t know,” Thomson reported. “I’m not really concerned at this point.”
Turner hasn’t played since May 3. He hit .343 in the first 33 games of the season.
–Field Level Media
