Lee Jung-hoo is about to return to 'back injury'... SF 'again' injury bad news, Encarnacion found fracture of left hand

Lee Jung-hoo is about to return to 'back injury'... SF 'again' injury bad news, Encarnacion found fracture of left hand

Blog Article

The San Francisco Giants, who swept their chests at the result of a detailed examination that Lee Jung-hoo (27) had no structural problems with his back, faced another bad injury.

Alex Pavlovic, a reporter who reports from San Francisco on local media "NBC Sports Bay Area," said on the 23rd (Korean time), "The San Francisco club announced that Gerard Encarnacion suffered a fracture in his left hand. He will undergo further examination today."

Encarnacion, who was put into the game in the top of the seventh inning of the exhibition game against the Cleveland Guardians on the 22nd, injured his left hand while trying to catch Ralphie Velazquez's ball diving after two outs in that inning. Encarnacion continued the play by throwing the ball that he spilled while sitting down to the second baseman, but failed to get up on the ground alone and was eventually helped by the coach and left the game that day.

San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin said after the game, "Playing right field in spring training is not as easy as it sounds. He tried to play well. I just put his finger underneath him," adding that Encarnacion will undergo X-ray screening immediately.

Encarnacion, who showed good performance in 20 exhibition games with a batting average of 0.302 (16 hits in 53 times at bat) and two homers, 14 RBIs and an OPS of 0.856, was most likely to be named the starting hitter for this season. However, Melvin's plan for this season has also become a bomb due to unexpected injury factors. If Encarnacion fails to join the team for the opening game, the club is reportedly considering Grant McCray, David Villa and Jake Lamb as substitutes.

Lee Jung-hoo, the center hitter who will return from injury, has become more important. Lee Jung-hoo missed the game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday, the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, and the Athletics on Sunday for three consecutive days due to back pain that occurred during sleep. "Lee Jung-hoo's injury is not related to baseball. It's just that his back hurts from sleeping wrong," Melvin said at the time, dismissing concerns over possible injuries.

However, the San Francisco Giants announced the next day that Lee Jung-hoo will undergo an MRI examination. "I hope to hear good news. Things are not going very well," Melvin said.

Fortunately, no structural damage was found on Lee Jung-hoo's back. However, it was reported that the pain did not completely disappear, and only treatment to relieve the discomfort would continue for the time being.

Lee focused on recovery by missing an exhibition game against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday, and plans to play in the game against the Triple-A Sacramento Rivercats on Tuesday to check his physical condition. Depending on the result of the day's inspection, Lee will also decide whether he will play in exhibition games against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday and Sunday.

Meanwhile, Lee Jung-hoo said in an interview with local media including MLB.com , "The opening game is very important 안전놀이터. If I am ready to play, I will definitely play," but added, "But the opening game is just one of 162 games. I will play if I am ready, but if I am not, I would like to make more use of the time to recover."