The Giants’ Bryce Eldridge hasn’t worked his way into the everyday lineup, but he got a start Monday and delivered two hits.
Godofredo A. Vásquez/Associated Press
PHOENIX — Bryce Eldridge’s solid night at the plate might’ve gotten lost in the San Francisco Giants’ 12-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
His two-hit night included a single rocketed at 103 mph off Zac Gallen’s knuckle curveball and a single poked the other way off reliever Jonathan Loáisiga’s changeup out of the zone.
It marked Eldridge’s first multihit game since he was called up on May 4 along with Jesus Rodriguez, but his name was not penciled into the Giants’ starting lineup Tuesday against right-handed starter Ryne Nelson.
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It wasn’t the first time the Giants’ top prospect had been left out of the lineup after a promising day at the plate. He came off the bench the game after hitting his first big league home run on May 9.
And so continues an odd big league stint for Eldridge. While it’s typical that a top prospect gets regular playing time upon his big league arrival, Eldridge has started in four of the nine games on this 10-game road trip thus far. Two of those starts came in Los Angeles against Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, two of the toughest arms in baseball.
“It’s a little bit of a puzzle to solve,” manager Tony Vitello said Monday. “But when you come to work every day and you have a guy that’s always got a smile on his face, and he’s willing to do whatever you ask, it makes it a lot easier.”
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The entire situation goes against president of baseball operations Buster Posey’s goal to keep their top prospects, like Eldridge, in the minor leagues until they were assured regular playing time. That meant the prospect would force his way into an everyday role. Eldridge and Rodriguez were called up under completely different circumstances, more to jolt a stagnant offense. The veteran blockade — and, in Rodriguez’s situation, having three catchers — has kept both in flux.
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Vitello said the decision to leave Eldridge out of the lineup on Tuesday had to do with Nelson’s reverse splits against left-handed hitting. With outfielder Jung Hoo Lee out Monday nursing back spasms and left fielder Heliot Ramos on the injured list, that meant left-handed hitting Will Brennan and Drew Gilbert in the outfield flanking Harrison Bader.
Casey Schmitt started in left field on Monday, opening the door for Eldridge to slot in at designated hitter. Schmitt, the team’s most consistent hitter and a priority to keep in the lineup on a day-to-day basis, moved back to the DH spot on Tuesday. Vitello said Eldridge would start in the series finale against righty Merrill Kelly on Wednesday.
“That was the plan all along,” Vitello said of the lineup choice. “Nelson has done a good job against left-handed hitters, in part, because of his spin. It hadn’t worked out great as far as — you do all this pre-planning before the game and you see the alley or avenue that Bryce can come off the bench as a threat, as a pinch-hitter. It could pop up tonight. But even if it doesn’t he’s going to get action tomorrow.
“He will get his fair share of hits. I think he’s pretty comfortable there and in an ideal world, every player is playing two straight weeks and gets an off day to rest, but it’s not an ideal world. We’ll be good with him and see what our guys can do tonight against Nelson.”
Before the road trip began, Vitello indicated that Eldridge wouldn’t have an everyday role by the mere fact that the pathways were blocked. Rafael Devers, despite April struggles, wouldn’t get days off at first base and Schmitt would play a lot of first and DH to stay in the lineup. Eldridge would get starts where matchups dictated and get pinch-hit at-bats to stay active.
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“Those aren’t my decisions,” Eldridge said last week. “I’m here to do my job, and I’m here to contribute to the team however I can, whatever the situation is, whether I’m starting or coming off the bench.”
Eldridge entered the game off the bench once against the Pittsburgh Pirates and as of Tuesday hadn’t done so on the road trip.
Ramos is expected to miss more than two weeks with the quad strain, which could open more opportunities for Eldridge to start if Schmitt plays more in left field. That happened on Monday, but wasn’t in the cards on Tuesday.
Briefly: Right-hander Logan Webb threw a bullpen session Tuesday in Arizona and will start his rehab assignment on Friday with Triple-A Sacramento. He said his previously sore knee feels “amazing.”