Bryce Eldridge slugs 11th homer in loss to Brewers

Eldridge will be away from the club for the next couple days to attend his grandfather’s funeral. The general expectation is that he’ll be back in advance of Thursday’s series opener against Arizona.

Eldridge should be back in time for the start of a series against the D-backs on Thursday. Shay Whitcomb or Nate Furman could be called up to help fill in until then.

Eldridge extended the Giants’ lead in the fifth inning with a 423-foot blast to left-center field off Hunter Brown. The home run snaps an 11-game drought, giving him his 12th of the season to go with 38 runs scored and 29 RBI while hitting .248/.341/.434 across 314 plate appearances.

This is the first game with Eldridge in the lineup since Luis Arraez was traded. Eldridge has also led off before, but, notably, he’s doing so against a lefty on Wednesday. If this change were permanent, it would likely hurt his RBI totals, but be good for his overall plate appearances and run totals.

Eldridge receives some extra rest to address a lingering thumb bruise, but the expectation is that he’ll be ready to return to the lineup rather quickly. The 21-year-old former top prospect should play everyday for San Francisco over the final two months in the wake of their trade deadline teardown. He offers enough over-the-fence power to be interesting in deeper mixed leagues until further notice.

Eldridge had three of the four hardest-hit balls of the game, coming in at 106.1 mph on his homer in the fourth, 108.5 mph on a lineout in the fifth and 108.1 mph on a single in the eighth. Hopefully, it means he’s escaping the drought that saw him hit .177 with one homer in his previous 17 games. That previous homer also came against Rockies pitching.

Eldridge doubled to drive in a run in the first inning, then took Sean Sullivan deep for a solo homer in the third. It was a 458-foot shot to right field. The 21-year-old slugger is up to seven homers, 24 runs scored, and 19 RBI while slashing .280/.368/.484 across 185 plate appearances.

If you’re going to have to take a day off on occasion, doing so against Chris Sale isn’t the worst idea in the world. Heliot Ramos will function as the Giants’ designated hitter in his place on Sunday while Victor Bericoto draws a start in right field and will bat eighth for the Giants.

Since delivering his walkoff grand slam against the Nationals on June 10, Eldridge had hit second in 11 of the Giants’ last 12 games and third in the other. He homered again in the first of those games, but in the last 11, he’s hit .179/.319/.282. As a result, he’s back down to sixth today. Casey Schmitt is batting second, and Jung Hoo Lee has been moved up to third. Eldridge should stay in the Giants lineup against righties after Heliot Ramos is activated from the IL, something that’s supposed to happen within the next couple of days, but he’ll probably start doing some sitting against lefties. He could cease being worthy of a roster spot in shallow leagues.

The rest of the Giants combined for one hit in the game. Eldridge’s homer came in the bottom of the ninth with the team down 5-0, but unlike Wednesday’s game against the Nationals, the Giants did not have the Cubs right where they wanted them. Eldridge has five homers in 113 plate appearances since his callup. He might keep up that pace, but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll maintain his current .316 average.