SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 29: San Francisco Giants' Joey Bart (21) bats against the San Diego Padres in the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Aug. 29, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
LOS ANGELES — A week after suffering a concussion on a foul tip off his face mask, catcher Joey Bart returned to the Giants’ lineup Tuesday against the Dodgers.
“It’s really nice to have Joey back in the lineup,” said manager Gabe Kapler, who penciled Bart in seventh against Los Angeles lefty Tyler Anderson. “Hopefully he’s able to keep that good momentum that he had before he went on the concussion IL. He was doing a great job for us.”
Bart, 25, had been experiencing a resurgence at the plate after returning from Triple-A with a reworked swing — batting .283 with an .808 OPS in 38 games back — but that was interrupted last Monday by a foul tip off the bat of Manny Machado.
To clear room on the roster to add Bart, the Giants designated Andrew Knapp for assignment. Along with Austin Wynns, Knapp had been sharing the catching duties in Bart’s absence.
Kapler, who previously managed Knapp in Philadelphia, said it was a “very difficult decision and not the easiest discussion.”
“It’s a nice opportunity to share that the work that Wynns and Knapp did was commendable,” Kapler said. “Andrew knows how much I pull for him personally, and there’s a lot of people in the organization that are feeling the same. … I think a lot of it has to do with Wynns has just performed well for us. He’s framed well. He’s led our pitching staff well. He knows our staff. And he’s had good at-bats for us. Not perfect, but he’s done a good job and earned the right to stay on our roster.”
Brebbia, the opener: For the 11th time this season, the Giants employed a bullpen game to cover the nine innings against the Dodgers on Tuesday, which would have been Alex Wood’s turn in the rotation.
Wood (shoulder impingement) was placed on the injured list last week, so instead they turned to John Brebbia to serve as the opener of a long line of relievers. Of the 11 bullpen games, Brebbia has started four of them.
“We know that Brebbia has been a high-leverage, important reliever for us,” Kapler said. “The first inning is a pretty important one to set the tone for the game. … The toughest portion of the lineup, obviously, is the top for most clubs but certainly for the Dodgers.”
In 10 previous bullpen games, the Giants have gone 5-5.
The start was Brebbia’s 64th appearance of the season, more than any other reliever in the majors.
The bullpen game is only the first of the challenges facing the Giants pitching staff this week.
What was originally scheduled to be an off day in Chicago on Thursday was turned into a double-header in Milwaukee to make up the final two games lost to the lockout to begin the season.
The Brewers announced that Corbin Burnes would start Game 1, but the Giants haven’t made any pitching plans yet.
“There’s a thousand possibilities,” Kapler said. “We’ll see where our pitching is at at the end of the day. … Very challenging. There’s a lot of innings to cover. We’ve got a lot of work to do and a lot of innings to cover.”
Originally published at Evan Webeck