SAN FRANCISCO — After watching right fielder Hunter Pence pelt the left field bleachers with home runs in batting practice for the third consecutive day, San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy had seen enough Tuesday.
Pence would not be going to Sacramento or San Jose for a minor league rehab stint. Instead, he would be thrust right into the heart of the major league lineup.
The Giants not only activated Pence from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday but also slotted him fourth in the batting order for their game against the New York Mets.
Pence, who missed 30 consecutive games because of left wrist tendinitis, made an immediate impact on a club that had lost seven games in a row. He helped offensively with two RBIs and defensively with a spectacular catch-and-throw double play, and San Francisco beat New York 3-0.
Bochy wouldn’t say it, but Pence’s rush-job reinstatement had as much to do with the sad state of affairs in the Giants’ outfield as the slugger’s health. The Giants had been getting so little from the likes of Justin Maxwell (.205) and Ryan Lollis (.000), Bochy had begun to play first basemen Brandon Belt and Travis Ishikawa in the outfield.
The Giants have had no such offensive problems when Pence has been in right field this season. In 19 games this season, he has 15 RBIs.