Tom Murphy leaves injured, throwing SF Giants catching situation into chaos
PHILADELPHIA — A difficult situation for the Giants turned disastrous not long into the second game of their series against the Phillies on Saturday.
Already without their starting catcher, they lost their No. 2 backstop in the second inning.
Barely 24 hours after Patrick Bailey suffered a concussion, forcing him to the injured list before first pitch Saturday, his backup, Tom Murphy, was forced to exit when he appeared to injure his leg while chasing after a pitch in the dirt from reliever Mitch White.
The Giants confirmed that Murphy was being evaluated for a left knee injury, the area he appeared to be gesturing to as he alerted the training staff to the matter. The pitch from White bounced off Murphy’s upper-body and skipped away as the catcher gave chase.
The only other catcher on the Giants’ roster, Blake Sabol, took over for Murphy. Only on hand to fill Bailey’s roster spot, Sabol arrived in Philadelphia from Sacramento at 5 a.m. and was able to sneak in a few hours of sleep before getting called into emergency duty later that evening.
After designating Joey Bart for assignment last month, the Giants have no other catchers on their 40-man roster. They will have to get someone to Philadelphia in time for Sunday’s game — miraculously not a matinee, with a 7:15 p.m. local start — if Murphy is unable to play, likely Jackson Reetz, the only other catcher at Triple-A.
Shortly after Murphy’s departure, they were trailing 9-0 in the second inning on a rain-drenched Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.