Mike Yastrzemski put quite a scare into fans on Thursday, when he left the San Francisco Giants comeback win over the Seattle Mariners in the second inning. Yastrzemski’s disappearance was a mystery for a while, but the team eventually announced that he had tightness in his right calf.
The outfielder had an MRI on Friday morning, and thankfully the results were good. He is able to avoid the Injured List, and is listed as day-to-day with a mild calf strain.
Mike Yastrzemski's MRI came back with a mild right calf strain.
— Kerry Crowley (@KO_Crowley) September 18, 2020
He'll be day-to-day for now. Not going on the injured list.
That serves as very good news for the Giants, who surely had nightmares about Yastrzemski missing serious time. The Giants are currently jockeying for postseason position, and, should they make the playoffs, they’ll start the Wild Card round in less than two weeks. Yastrzemski has been the team’s most valuable player this year, so his presence is greatly needed.
Yastrzemski was not put into Friday’s lineup for the Giants series opener against the Oakland A’s. It’s just the second time all year that he hasn’t started a game, and assuming that he rides the pine all game long, it will mark the first time all year that he’s missed a game entirely.
He’s the only Giant to have played all 49 games through Thursday’s; the next closest is Wilmer Flores, who has appeared in 45 contests.
Here’s hoping Yastrzemski heals quickly, and is back in the lineup sometime this weekend. All things considered, being listed as day-to-day is about the best outcome the Giants could have hoped for. It could have been much, much worse.