Longoria goes on DL with left hand fracture
Giants unsure if he'll have surgery; third baseman focused on staying positive, healing quickly
MIAMI -- Evan Longoria fractured the fifth metacarpal in his left hand when he was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning of Thursday afternoon's 6-3, 16-inning win over the Marlins. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list Friday, with RHP Pierce Johnson called up from Triple-A Sacramento as the corresponding move.
"It was a pretty traditional break," Longoria said after the game. "It's unfortunate. We're just going to wait and see what the plan is. I don't know if we're going to have surgery or not. Obviously, they're looking for the best solution right now.
"But this sucks. We've had our fair share of bumps and bruises this year. It's part of the game. It's unavoidable."
Listen: Morning Lineup Podcast on Longoria's injury
Longoria was struck on the back of the left hand by a Dan Straily four-seam fastball, clocked by Statcast™ at 88.6 mph, to open the fourth. He remained in the game to run the bases, but he was erased on a double play that ended the top half of the frame. Longoria was replaced defensively in the bottom half by Alen Hanson.
"It wasn't my legs, so I stayed in," Longoria said. "I hate coming out of the game right away, I've always thought it looked bad. I knew right away that it didn't feel right, but I just figured I could run."
Longoria added that while he was standing on first base, he could feel it getting worse and knew at that point that it wasn't going to get any better.
"My job now is just to work towards getting healthy and be as supportive as I can in the process," Longoria said. "I think we'll have a little bit more information in terms of the plan in the next couple of days. Obviously, the goal is to decide something as soon as possible and get going in the right direction; whether that's put a cast on it and just let it sit or have some sort of surgery and go that route.
"I'll push as hard as I can to get back as soon as I can. I'm right-hand dominant, so there are some things I can do to in the meantime to keep up some strength, so I'm not too far behind the 8-ball when it's right for me to start a rehab [assignment]."
Comparing the X-rays, Longoria said that Madison Bumgarner's similar injury, which happened in Spring Training, was much worse.
"It was a little bit different," Longoria said. "It wasn't exactly the same. I'm not a doctor, but just looking at the X-rays, his was broken in a little different place. And his was also on his throwing hand, and he's a pitcher. So there's a lot more going on there.
"For me, I've just got to get that bone healed and start working towards getting back. I think Madison had to wait a little bit longer, because he's throwing with that left hand."
The last time something like this happened, Longoria recalls it producing a positive result.
"The last time I broke a bone in my wrist, we went to the World Series in 2008," Longoria said. "I came back at the end of that year, and we finished strong. So I'm going to hold onto that memory right there and use this win today to kind of catapult us in the right direction."
The Giants' third baseman is tied for the team lead with 34 RBIs, he ranks second on the team with 10 home runs and is tied for second with 27 extra-base hits.