Giants infielder Donovan Solano, red-hot at the plate but ice-cold with his defense, will miss Tuesday’s game with the Houston Astros with abdominal soreness, manager Gabe Kapler said.
Kapler said Solano will be reevaluated Wednesday when the Giants finish their three-game series with the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Solano went 2-for-4 for the Giants on Monday against the Astros to raise his batting average this season to a scalding .458, second-best in Major League Baseball behind Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon (.484).
But playing third base for Evan Longoria, who got the day off, Solano also committed two errors in what became a 6-4 loss, the Giants’ sixth in eight games. Entering Tuesday, the Giants were 30th and last in MLB with 21 errors and a fielding percentage of .967
Kapler said he did not feel as if the injury affected Solano’s defense.
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“Earlier in the game, he said he felt something really minor. He wasn’t concerned about it,” Kapler said. “It was just something that he wanted to address and we’re getting out in front of it. It wasn’t concerning enough early in the game for us to get him out of there.”
Solano has made five errors this season, four in five games at third base and one in 10 games at second base. But he is riding a 15-game hitting streak, in which he has nine doubles and 15 RBI and has become a mainstay near the top of the order.
Longoria will be back at third base Tuesday with Brandon Crawford taking over at shortstop. Wilmer Flores will be the Giants’ designated hitter.
Kapler said he wanted to give Pablo Sandoval, who turned 34 on Tuesday, the day off. Kapler said Sandoval is dealing with family concerns.
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