SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants will have to continue their playoff push without one of their more productive hitters, as they were forced to place first baseman Dominic Smith on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain on Saturday.
Smith departed Friday night’s 5-1 walk-off win over the Dodgers after tweaking his hamstring while stretching for a ball and underwent an MRI exam on Saturday that revealed the strain, which the Giants believe is “moderate,” according to manager Bob Melvin.
Melvin said the Giants won’t have an exact timetable for Smith until he meets with team doctors, but with only 15 games left to go, it’s unclear if he’ll have enough time to return before the end of the regular season.
"He’s not a speedster, but hamstrings typically take a couple of weeks,” Melvin said. “I know he’ll be itching to [come back]. It just kind of depends on what we need him to do.”
The Giants replaced Smith on the 28-man roster by activating Jerar Encarnacion, who started in right field against Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw on Saturday after missing 32 games with his own right hamstring strain.
Rafael Devers and Wilmer Flores are expected to handle first-base duties for now, but it’ll be tough to replace Smith’s smooth defense, which was on display during his all-out play on Friday.
The Dodgers had runners on second and third with two outs in the top of the fourth inning when Andy Pages hit a grounder to the left side that was fielded by third baseman Matt Chapman, who made a diving stop before getting up and firing to an outstretched Smith at first base.
Pages was called out by first-base umpire Roberto Ortiz to leave both runners stranded and end the inning, but the play didn’t come without a cost to the Giants, as Smith immediately winced and grabbed his right leg after catching the ball.
Smith tried jogging out to shallow right field to test his leg, but he didn’t look comfortable and ended up walking gingerly off the field once the inning officially came to an end. Flores came out to pinch-hit for Smith in the bottom of the fourth and stayed in to play first base in the fifth.
Smith, 30, had emerged as a valuable pickup since signing a Major League deal with the Giants on June 4, hitting .284 with a .750 OPS over 63 games this year.
“He’s been great, both offensively and defensively,” Melvin said. “Hitting in the middle of the order, getting big hits for us. I think this is probably as comfortable as he’s been in a long time with the team, too. He’s well received here. He’s respected here. You’re going to have certain injuries over the course of the season that are impactful. This is definitely one for us.”