Giants OF Austin Slater leaves game with hamstring tightness

Slater has arguably become an overlooked member of the Giants core over the past few seasons. While injuries and large platoon splits have limited his overall contribution, Slater excels in a few key areas. The Stanford product is an above-average defensive player and entered the season with a .285/.377/.469 line with 32 doubles, five triples, 20 home runs, 71 walks, and 139 strikeouts in 640 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers.

The Giants have been particularly cautious with Slater all season long. He also dealt with an elbow injury during spring training, and he aggravated it during his rehab from the hamstring injury. Even since he was activated in late April, the Giants have limited his defensive workload. Despite the limited playing time, Slater has been quite productive. Entering play on Wednesday, he had a .412/.474/.471 triple-slash in 19 plate appearances with a double, two stolen bases, two walks, and three strikeouts.

The Giants struggled mightily against left-handed pitching early in the season when Slater was on the injured list. Granted, offseason acquisition Mitch Haniger was also out for much of that time. Nevertheless, the SF Giants surely hope Austin Slater can avoid another prolonged absence after he was pulled from Wednesday's game.