Thursday BP: Austin Slater has elbow soreness

Hello hello, and happy Thursday.

Austin Slater was a late scratch for the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday against the Houston Astros. It wasn’t clear until after the game what was wrong with him, but the team announced that he experienced elbow soreness during the Giants win on Tuesday. He was hoping to feel fine after warming up on Wednesday, but unfortunately did not.

With the team heading home to San Francisco, he’s set to be reevaluated.

Slater has been on a tear this year, hitting 13-38 with 3 home runs, 1 triple, 5 walks, and, surprisingly, a league-leading 5 stolen bases. Perhaps most encouraging has been his performance against right-handed pitchers: 7-23 with 1 home run, 1 triple, and 2 walks.

Hopefully he’s back on the field soon.

Did Barry Bonds hit a home run today?

Yeah.

August 13, 2004: Against the Philadelphia Phillies, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 7th inning off of Amaury Telemaco. It gave the Giants a 16-5 lead, and they would win 16-6. It was his 31st homer of the year.

Old, random MCC article for you to read

Mike Trout is the closest thing we have to Willie Mays (Aug. 7, 2019 — Kenny Kelly)

Giants links

• Roger Munter on the future of the Minor Leagues (There R Giants)
• Grant Brisbee is happy that the Giants used their closer during a tie on the road (The Athletic, subscription required)
• Kerry Crowley on how Austin Slater is the rare homegrown outfielder who meets expectations (Mercury News)
• Alex Pavlovic on Giants catchers stealing strikes (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Andrew Baggarly on what Tuesday’s comeback win meant (The Athletic, subscription required)
• Mark W. Sanchez on the final leap that Austin Slater needs to make (KNBR)
• Dalton Johnson on the swing changes that Mike Yastrzemski attributes his power to (NBC Sports Bay Area)

Have a wonderful Thursday, everybody.