DETROIT -- One of the reasons the Giants wanted to sign Michael Morse this winter is that he’d provide a designated hitter for their games in American League parks.
But Morse won’t be available in this weekend’s series at Comerica Park. He won’t be here at all. Morse went back to San Francisco to get a cortisone injection in his sore left hip/oblique area. He’ll continue with physical therapy and Giants manager Bruce Bochy wouldn’t rule out Morse being available Tuesday when the club begins its next homestand.
In the meantime, Bochy will piece it together at DH. Hey, it worked all right when the Giants were last here two years ago. Ryan Theriot scored the go-ahead run in a World Series-clinching Game 4.
“We were just talking about it,” Bochy said, of the World Series memories. “The clubhouse seemed very quiet. Last time, there were a million people in there.”
The Giants were 4-0 in the World Series games at Texas and Detroit in 2010 and ’12. Otherwise, their interleague road record has been awful.
They are 0-7 at Oakland, Kansas City and the Chicago White Sox this season while being outscored 15-42. Last year, they were 2-8 in AL parks and were outscored 24-50 by the Blue Jays, A’s, Rays and Yankees. They have lost seven consecutive regular-season series in AL parks, and nine of 10 over the past three seasons.
That’s not all on the DH, obviously, but for whatever reason, the Giants have played their worst baseball when they ventured outside of the NL. It’s rookie Adam Duvall at DH Friday because Bochy liked the power he put up in the minors (his last homer at Triple-A was the 100th of his minor league career), and he had a nice RBI single in a pinch at-bat to start the Giants’ comeback Tuesday at Coors Field.
[NEWS: Giants lineup: Duvall to DH]
Bochy said he’s likely to DH Pablo Sandoval on Saturday, with Andrew Susac catching Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey at first base. He’ll wait and see before making a call on Sunday’s DH.
For now, Bochy has a bench with eight right-handed hitters and no lefties or switch-hit guys. Angel Pagan’s back loosened up so he returned to the lineup. Gregor Blanco is in there as well, and he has his errorless streak back. The scorer in Colorado removed an error on a foul fly Wednesday, so Blanco enters Friday with 306 consecutive errorless games -- the longest current run among NL outfielders.
You might notice Roberto Kelly is not here. He is receiving an award from the Latino baseball Hall of Fame, so minor league coach Jose Alguacil is going to coach first base.
The Tigers have a pretty recognizable first base coach, too. It’s Omar Vizquel, who didn’t play shortstop in a golden era of Giants baseball, but remains a fan favorite and a joy to be around.
Bochy noted that Vizquel played for him, and so did Tigers manager Brad Ausmus and hitting coach Wally Joyner. Three members of the opposing coaching staff once suited up for you? That’ll make you feel old in a hurry.
