SAN FRANCISCO—Hunter Pence has been placed on the team’s 10-day disabled list on Monday, May 15 due to a left hamstring strain.
The 34 year-old right fielder joins pitcher Madison Bumgarner, who sustained dirt biking-related shoulder and rib injuries in April, and closer Mark Melancon, who is currently healing from a mild right pronator strain. Shortstop Brandon Crawford and catcher Buster Posey were also placed on the DL earlier this season.
This is Pence’s fifth time on the DL in three seasons. Up until the beginning of 2015, he played in 383 back-to-back games. In 2016, he injured his right hamstring and underwent surgery to remove a torn tendon, missing 48 games as a result.
Pence noted that he mildly experienced the injury during a game against the New York Mets on May 9, where the team lost 6-1. During Thursday’s game in Cincinnati, he noticed the pain increasing gradually.
On Friday, Pence stepped up as a pinch-hitter in the 15th inning (the Giants defeated the Reds in 17 innings). While making his way to first base after hitting a grounder, “I couldn’t really run,” he shared. “After that sprint, it went backwards. Even in the outfield, I was make-shifting trying to get to balls.”
The injury was confirmed after an MRI, and Pence sat out both games in Cincinnati over the weekend. Triple-A Sacramento River Cats’ Mac Williamson, 26, took Pence’s place as right fielder on Monday night, just before the start of a three-game series against the Dodgers.
Pence, who will be eligible to return to the field on May 23, has told reporters that he does not feel “terribly bad.”
“It’s just, hopefully we can knock this out real quick and, I think, according to what they told me, I should be ready right around when I’m eligible,” he contended.
