Jung Hoo Lee hits career-high ninth homer in loss

Lee has mostly hit fifth, sixth and seventh of late, but he was up to second tonight with Luis Arraez and Heliot Ramos out of the mix and he came through with one of his best games as a major leaguer. That he should remain in an elevated spot in the lineup might give him a little extra fantasy value down the stretch, even though the Giants figure to really struggle to score runs.

Lee is back patrolling right field and hitting fifth following a two-game absence due to elbow soreness after being hit by a pitch over the weekend. The 27-year-old has delivered a strong .302 batting average with six homers and six steals through 96 games this season.

Lee will sit out a second straight contest with right elbow soreness after being hit by a pitch over the weekend. The 27-year-old outfielder isn’t dealing with any structural issues and should be ready to return at some point this week. He’s been a strong fantasy contributor in the batting average department, hitting .302 through 96 games. He’s also chipped in six homers and six steals as well. It’ll be Grant McCray in right field on Monday night in his place.

He’s not dealing with any structural issues, but is still feeling a bit sore after being plunked on Saturday evening so he’ll get a day off to rest. Grant McCray will start in his place in right field and will bat ninth for the Giants against Jose Soriano and the Angels on Sunday afternoon in San Francisco.

Lee extended the Giants’ lead in the third inning, highlighting a five-run frame with a three-run blast off Ryan Johnson for his sixth home run of the year. He then added a double in the fifth and was hit by a pitch in the seventh. The 27-year-old outfielder is hitting .302/.336/.435 with six homers, 51 runs scored, 37 RBI, and six steals across 384 plate appearances.

Lee has been in a bit of a funk at the plate, going just 7-for-44 with one extra-base hit over his last 12 games, so the Giants will give him a night off to clear his head. Drew Gilbert will start in his place in center field and will bat eighth for the Giants against Ryan Feltner and the Rockies.

Lee took over as the major league leader in average for a brief spell last month, peaking at .333, but he’s just 7-for-44 with one extra-base hit and one walk in his last 12 games. Given that he’s not big with the homers or steals, he needs to hit over .300 to be of any real use in shallow leagues. He’s still at .311 right now, but Statcast thinks he’s been kind of lucky. He currently has a .327 BABIP, but he’s not hitting the ball any harder than last year, when he posted a .291 BABIP and batted .266.

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.

Lee put the Giants on the board with the first run of the game as he took Aaron Civale deep for a solo homer in the second inning. He later added a base hit in the fourth and drew a walk in the sixth before stealing second. He looked to be a bit banged up after a collision on the steal, but remained in the game. The 27-year-old outfielder is hitting .331/.365/.470 with five homers, 40 runs scored, 27 RBI, and five steals across 285 plate appearances.

Rafael Devers and Lee went back-to-back in the fifth inning after play resumed Wednesday. It was Lee’s first homer since May 14 and only his fourth of the year, but he’s second in the majors with his .331 average.