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SAN FRANCISCO – The day off before the last homestand of the season brought terrible news for Brandon Belt and the Giants, who took first place.
An x-ray taken on Monday revealed Belt had a fractured left thumb. The Giants have said Belt will meet with medics over the next few days to work out a stimulus package and schedule for his return, but the initial diagnosis likely rules him out for at least the rest of the regular season and the start of the playoffs. . The Wild Card Game is October 6 and the NLDS begins two days later.
Belt was injured in the seventh inning on Sunday when he played against southpaw Lucas Gilbreath. He took a 93 mph throw from the thumb and walked out of the game a few minutes later. Belt expressed optimism to his teammates after the game, but a first scan in Denver was inconclusive. Monday’s x-ray brought the bad news.
It’s a tough blow for the Giants, who have a two-game lead in the NL West with six to go. Belt has been their best player over the past two months, hitting 18 home runs and posting a 1,085 OPS since returning from a knee injury on August 5. He’s one of the few who is at the heart of Gabe Kapler’s roster, no matter who is on the mound for the opposing team.
While the timing is not in Belt’s favor at all, it has come back from the setbacks of the past. He suffered a bad concussion in 2014 but returned in September and hit a memorable 18th inning homer in the NLDS to help the Giants win a title. Earlier this season, Belt suffered a knee injury that was initially considered the end of the season, but he avoided surgery, rehabilitated himself and came back playing the best baseball of his career. Belt also suffered a fractured thumb in 2014 and missed seven weeks around that time.
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The Giants survived that first absence this year by successfully integrating LaMonte Wade Jr. and Darin Ruf as the first base squad. While Ruf is on the IL, Wade and Wilmer Flores may attempt to form a similar partnership.
The injury is also a personal blow for Belt, a free agent late in the season. “The captain” was one homer away from reaching 30 for the first time. He would have become the first Giants first baseman to reach that mark since Will Clark.
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