Brandon Belt return brings Giants back to near health



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After four months of constant injuries, the Giants are very, very close to getting their entire team back on the pitch.

Brandon Belt returned from the injured list on Thursday and will make his first start since his knee injury on June 23 in Anaheim, and Evan Longoria is not far behind. The third baseman, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, will make a start for Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday and stretch to seven innings on Friday, so he’s not far from returning. It seems reasonable that he could be back for the start of the next homestand on Tuesday.

The Giants picked up Tommy La Stella on Wednesday and saw him reach base four times, and with the return of two more starters, there’s going to be a tighter roster. They temporarily avoided this by putting Kevin Gausman on the paternity list. The Gausmans are expecting their second daughter, Sutton, on Friday morning.

Belt’s comeback has further deepened a lineup that Kris Bryant has also added over the past week. In the final against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bryant plays his third position since arriving:

Belt had an .875 OPS and 11 home runs before he was injured, and at the time there were concerns he would need surgery. But he avoided that fate, rehabilitating for over a month instead, and recently said he didn’t anticipate any further problems. He wears a knee brace, on which he has already undergone end-of-season surgery.

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“It’s great to see the person they are calling to step in and take over and do such a good job of helping us win football games,” he said. “But it was a little hard to sit down and watch those rivalry games. They are fun games, that’s why we play baseball. It was hard to sit down and watch this, but I am really excited to go back and start playing again. “

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