Kevin Gausman, as he has all season long, was cruising during Sunday's 5-4 win over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
Gausman was fantastic, striking out seven while allowing just two hits across six scoreless innings. But on his 72nd and final pitch of the day, Gausman fielded a ground ball on the third-base side of the infield grass and fired a strike to LaMonte Wade Jr. at first for the final out of the inning, and appeared to tweak something in the process. He went into the dugout with a 5-0 lead before giving way to Jarlin Garcia in the bottom of the seventh.
The Giants announced that Gausman had left hip tightness and was removed for precautionary reasons. But not before lowering his ERA to 1.40, which ranks fourth-best in MLB.
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He also did himself a favor earlier in the game with an RBI single off Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw.
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After the game, Giants manager Gabe Kapler said that Gausman initially felt the tightness when running to first on his RBI single, which was then exacerbated by his play in the field. Kapler added that Gausman's hip has been bothering him for a few weeks, and that he'll get an MRI.
While San Francisco's staff has been tremendous as a whole, there's no question that Gausman has cemented himself as its ace. The Giants can't afford to lose him for an extended period and will be crossing their fingers that it's nothing serious.
For what it's worth, Gausman doesn't expect to miss any time.
San Francisco Giants
"I haven't missed a start yet and don't plan to," he told reporters via videoconference.