Giants’ Bumgarner not ‘too excited’ about progress yet
Giants’ Bumgarner not ‘too excited’ about progress yet
MILWAUKEE - Thursday marks seven weeks since Madison Bumgarner's dirt-bike accident, and he still has so many weeks to go before even can throw off a mound.
Some players go nuts on a 10-day disabled list because they cannot play.
Bumgarner said Wednesday he has kept an even keel because he told himself he had to when he separated his shoulder and injured some ribs.
[...] Bumgarner also cannot get overly optimistic about his progress because he has so much work to do.
Bumgarner began throwing May 30, but the medical staff has not allowed him to swing a bat.
Farm arms:
The Giants have promoted outfielders Austin Slater and Orlando Calixte to observe them against major-league pitching.
Manager Bruce Bochy said the club has no immediate plans to do the same with Triple-A pitchers such as starters Tyler Beede and Joan Gregorio, or reliever Kyle Crick and, for that matter, third baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang.
The Giants soon will need a spot for third baseman Conor Gillaspie, who is close to returning from a back injury, and another for reliever Sam Dyson, whom they acquired from Texas on Tuesday.
Dyson is expected to join the team Friday in San Francisco.
Hwang has an opt-out June 30, so the staff will have to make a call soon.
The Giants do not seem inclined to move Matt Cain out of the rotation despite his 8.40 road ERA and an upcoming start in Denver.
Bochy said the Giant still are unsure if Gregorio is better suited to start or relieve, and that Sacramento manager Dave Brundage had good things to say about 2011 first-round draft pick Kyle Crick, who has a 2.96 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings as a reliever, and finally seems to have solved his wildness.
"Cricky, he's done a great job of becoming more of a pitcher," Bochy said.
The jump has helped him.
If we need somebody he's a guy we'd certainly think of because of the work he's done there.
Former Giants pitcher Chris Heston should be at AT&T Park this weekend with the Twins, who claimed him on waivers from the Dodgers on Wednesday.
The Dodgers had claimed him from the Mariners on May 26.
Last December, the Giants traded Heston to Seattle, where he allowed 11 earned runs in five innings this season.
Heston made one relief appearance for the Dodgers' Triple-A Oklahoma City team and allowed three runs in three innings.
Ty Blach hopes to continue a great roll as Bumgarner's replacement in the third of four games against the Brewers.
In his past five starts he is 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA anH faces righty Jimmy Nelson.
The lineups:
Pence RF
Calixte LF
Perez LF
Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
The Giants, Cubs, Cardinals, Royals and Red Sox, who have won every World Series since 2010, are a combined 137-150 this year.