In the fourth inning of the San Francisco Giants’ game against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, Hunter Pence was running out a groundball, and stopped halfway down the line, holding his right hamstring.
On Friday, it was revealed that Pence’s hamstring tendon was torn completely from the bone, and he will undergo surgery. The injury and rehab are expected to keep the veteran outfielder out at least eight weeks, and Pence was told it could be more than that.
Pence hamstring tendon torn completely from the bone. #sfgiants
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) June 3, 2016
Groeschner said Pence’s tendon will be removed. It’s the one surgeons take for TJ surgery. “Lot of guys running around without one.”
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) June 3, 2016
Pence said he’s glad to finally get diagnosis and plan. Happy he’ll have a lot of season left when he returns, tho was told might be …
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) June 3, 2016
… more than 8 weeks. — Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) June 3, 2016
Giants right fielder Hunter Pence will undergo surgery to reattach a torn right hamstring tendon, a procedure that comes with a two-month recovery and rehab time frame. Manager Bruce Bochy said Pence tore the tendon off the bone near the back of his right knee in Atlanta on Wednesday, when he pulled up lame while trying to beat out an infield hit. The injury and surgery is similar to what Angel Pagan had in June, 2013. Pagan returned after nine weeks.
Man, that had to be painful.
The 33-year-old outfielder was having another terrific season, with a .298/.375/486 slash line and seven homers in 208 plate appearances. It will be tough to replace Pence’s production in the lineup.
Belt: “This sucks, basically. He’s obviously a big part of this team. It’s going to be hard to replace somebody like him for two months.” — Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) June 3, 2016
It appears that Mac Williamson and Jarrett Parker will get some playing time in right field, and Kelby Tomlinson will also see some more time in the outfield. It may even mean getting Brandon Belt some time in the outfield:
Bochy mentioned Tomlinson in OF more. Also Belt to LF possible. “We’ve got to get creative here.”
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) June 3, 2016
The Giants currently hold a 5.5 game in the NL West over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and hope they can still be in first place when Pence (hopefully) returns later in the season.
