Giants frustrated by inside pitches as they await news on Casey Schmitt's wrist originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — For the past 10 days, Casey Schmitt’s left ankle has been a gnarly mix of black and blue. He twice fouled pitches off the foot at Dodger Stadium, turning his ankle on one of the swings, and it might take months before the bruise fully goes away.
Schmitt now has another wound to worry about, and it’s much more concerning.
The third baseman was drilled on the wrist by a 95 mph sinker in the ninth inning Wednesday, and while he went out for defense in the top of the 10th, he wasn’t going to be able to swing a bat in the bottom of the inning. An X-ray at Oracle Park was negative, but Schmitt has dealt with enough injuries over his career to know that it’s often about how you feel the next morning. He said there’s a decent chance he goes for additional tests on Thursday.
The hit-by-pitch certainly wasn’t intentional — Miami Marlins closer Calvin Faucher hit two batters with a two-run lead and ended up blowing the save. But after an 8-5 loss, the Giants weren’t really in the mood to try and figure out if they’re getting hit on purpose. The point is they’re getting hit a lot, period.
Overall, the Giants have been hit 32 times, which ranks 14th in MLB. But eight of those have come in the last nine games. Logan Webb, who was long gone by the time Schmitt and Dominic Smith got hit, said this stretch is “starting to get frustrating.”
“The game finds a way to even itself out,” he said. “And it will.”
The main target has been Heliot Ramos, who is among the league leaders with 10 hit-by-pitches. He said it has been “annoying” and “frustrating” and said over and over again that “nobody wants to get hit.” He also referenced the game’s unwritten rules, and the way these things generally get taken care of.
For Schmitt, this is a bit more personal. He dealt with injuries in the minors after getting drilled, and this potential injury comes at a time when he’s swinging the bat so well that he seems headed for the starting second base job when Matt Chapman returns.
“It’s obviously kind of annoying but it’s just kind of how the game goes,” Schmitt said. “It doesn’t seem like it’s intentional. I don’t think it’s intentional at all, but it’s definitely not a fun thing to have to go through, especially when you’ve gone through it before. I’ve gotten hit in the face, I fractured my wrist — I’ve had these injuries up there so it’s annoying and frustrating to get these things.”
The Giants are hopeful that Schmitt is OK after a night of rest and treatment. They’ll wait and see how Thursday’s game plays out from a drama standpoint, but already, this has been a wildly disappointing series.
The Marlins are one of the league’s worst teams, but it took that hit-by-pitch-fueled rally just to get to extra innings. When Camilo Doval gave up four runs in the 10th, the Giants had a series loss, and a losing homestand.
As frustrating as the inside pitches have been, there are bigger problems. The lineup is 8-for-59 with runners in scoring position on this homestand. Bob Melvin shook off a question about situational woes by saying the Giants aren’t getting enough runners on base, period, which is, well, also a huge problem.
They also have gotten runners thrown out at the plate in key spots in back-to-back nights, but Melvin again said he doesn’t have a problem with third base coach Matt Williams’ aggression.
“We’re trying to win a game,” he said of Jung Hoo Lee being thrown out from left in the bottom of the ninth.
They desperately need to get one on Thursday. This has been an offensive stretch that has been frustrating, and not just because they keep getting hit by inside pitches.
