With more reps, Austin finding success in left

LOS ANGELES -- After being acquired from the Twins in April, Tyler Austin put in a lot of extra work to get acclimated to the outfield, where he had played sparingly since breaking into the Majors in 2016.

Those efforts helped yield one of his best defensive performances of the season in the Giants' 9-2 loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday night. In his 17th appearance of the year in left field, Austin recovered from a bad first step to make a diving catch on a fly ball off the bat of Cody Bellinger in the fifth inning. He also collected an outfield assist by throwing Justin Turner out at second base after he tried to stretch a single into a double in the seventh.

"I think it's just working in practice," Austin said. "The fifth inning, the ball I dove for today, I broke back then broke forward. That might be part of the reason I had to dive for it to begin with, but it's coming along and getting better every day."

Manager Bruce Bochy said he believes Austin has the tools to be a good outfielder and will only continue to improve as he accumulates more reps.

"He's getting better and better out there," Bochy said. "He can run. He's got range. There's no reason why he shouldn't be a good left fielder. What a good play he made off the wall [on Turner's hit]. He's got a strong arm. He put that right on the money."

Austin was slated to make his third consecutive start in left field on Thursday, but the Giants decided to make a last-minute switch to strengthen their defensive alignment in the outfield, moving Austin to right and Mike Yastrzemski to left. Bochy said the Giants expect left field to see more action, as the Dodgers stacked their lineup with right-handed bats against lefty Madison Bumgarner.

Injury updates

• Center fielder Steven Duggar was out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game with lower back stiffness. Duggar said he is feeling better and hopes to return to action during the Giants' upcoming series against the D-backs.

• Right-hander Johnny Cueto, who is currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, will visit the Giants at Chase Field this weekend and throw another bullpen session in front of the coaching staff. Bochy said Cueto remains on schedule and could return to pitch in September if all goes well.