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SAN FRANCISCO — Giants left-hander Drew Smyly exited Saturday’s game at Oracle Park with the Texas Rangers near the start of the fifth inning with what looked like a finger injury.
Smyly was pitching to Rob Refsnyder and had a 1-1 count when play was halted. Smyly, still appearing to be in some discomfort, was visited on the mound by manager Gabe Kapler and trainer L.J. Petra and later tried to throw some practice pitches, but could not continue and came out of the game.
Right-handed reliever Shaun Anderson replaced Smyly.
Up until that point, Smyly had been enjoying an effective start, allowing three hits and two earned runs on 71 pitches. He had seven strikeouts.
Smyly should have escaped the first inning unscathed when the Rangers scored their first two runs, but the Giants botched a rundown that allowed Elvis Andrus to get back to third base. Todd Frazier then singled to right to score both Andrus and Joey Gallo and give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.
Smyly threw 57 pitches through three innings. Giants manager Gabe Kapler has been looking for more efficiency from his starting staff, which had not been able to complete five innings in the first eight games of the season.
But as has been the case for most of the homestand, the Giants’ offense provided enough run support to overcome the hiccups by the starting staff. Coming into Saturday, the Giants had scored 25 runs in four games at Oracle Park, which included their 9-2 win over the Rangers on Friday night.
Evan Longoria and Donovan Solano both drove in two runs as the Giants took a 4-2 lead in the third inning.
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In his first start of the season on July 26, Smyly lasted 3 1/3 innings, throwing 64 pitches and allowing one earned run in what turned into a 3-1 win over the Dodgers.
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Source:: The Mercury News – Sports
