Notes: Yaz out of Sat. lineup; injury updates

Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski was not in San Francisco’s lineup Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates after he crashed into the right-field wall in Friday’s 3-2 loss in extra innings.

Though Yastrzemski was able to pick himself up off the ground and make a play on Adam Frazier’s triple, the Giants opted to give the 30-year-old a day off. Yastrzemski was reinstated from the 10-day injured list May 7 after rehabilitating a left oblique strain, the same side that crashed into PNC Park’s right-field wall.

“I don't anticipate this being especially long term,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “But we felt like it was best to give him a blow today.”

Kapler added that Yastrzemski was pretty sore ahead of Saturday’s game. The outfielder was clocked traveling 23.9 feet per second, according to Statcast, as he tracked down Frazier’s towering hit.

"It’s completely unrelated to [the previous injury],” Kapler said. “It's just Yaz running into the wall, sacrificing his body to try to make a catch for us and just hitting it pretty good.”

Yastrzmeski went 0-for-5 Friday night as he’s tried to find consistency at the plate since coming off the injured list. In his previous seven games, Yastrzmeski drove in two runs with a .217 batting average.

Dickerson, Solano nearing return

Left fielder Alex Dickerson and second baseman Donovan Solano are inching their way back to San Francisco’s active roster.

Dickerson is eligible to be reinstated Sunday, and Kapler believes he should be able to join the Giants within a few days. Dickerson suffered a right shoulder impingement that has sidelined him since the beginning of May. He was hitting .213 on the season with three homers and 12 RBIs.

Solano is scheduled to play five innings for Triple-A Sacramento Saturday at Triple-A Oklahoma. Before Solano was diagnosed with a right calf strain, he was one of San Francisco’s best hitters. His .300 batting average is the second highest among Giants players, despite having played fewer games than Buster Posey, who leads the team with a .365 average.

Old friend alert

The Giants will face an old friend Saturday for the third game of the series against the Pirates. Left-hander Tyler Anderson will toe the rubber against his former team, and his season numbers show that it might be a tough match up.

He made 13 appearances (11 starts) when he pitched for San Francisco in 2020. He owned a 3.03 ERA with a 3-3 record and recorded 41 strikeouts. Anderson was non-tendered by the Giants in the offseason, leading him to sign with Pittsburgh.

Kapler isn’t surprised by the southpaw’s impressive track record this season. He witnessed Anderson do the same at Oracle Park in the abbreviated ‘20 season. But in ‘21, the Giants will use their history to their advantage as they try to increase their NL West lead.

"Changeup, heavy mix, strike-thrower. Very, very competitive individual. It doesn't surprise me to see him thriving in this ballpark and having the success that he's having,” Kapler said. “We have to go in there with a high-quality game plan, [and] we've got one.”