Bryce

Eldridge

There’s technically a chance that Eldridge could return before the regular season concludes since the move is retroactive to September 18. That seems highly unlikely after he was placed in concussion protocol after hitting his head in an off-field accident at the team’s hotel last Friday. It would be surprising if he came back later this week. The 21-year-old top prospect turned in a phenomenal second half to hit .269/.364/.461 with 50 runs scored, 17 homers, 57 RBI and one steal in 448 plate appearances this season.

That seems like the proper way to handle a player who was “woozy” a day after hitting his head. Brett Harris will likely start at first base again Sunday.

“Woozy” but not officially in concussion protocol, apparently. Which doesn’t seem right. Eldridge hasn’t been ruled out for Sunday, but there’s less optimism here now than there was after last night’s game.

Eldridge, a surprising scratch Friday, banged his head on a low-hanging ceiling at the Giants team hotel. However, he passes tests afterwards, and it sounds like he might have played tonight if the Giants were in the race.

No word on how the injury occurred, but Eldridge is considered day-to-day. Brett Harris replaced him in the Giants lineup and will start at first base against Dodgers’ right-hander Tyler Glasnow.

Eldridge’s homer was a 461-foot bomb off Andre Pallante. He hit that ball 112.7 mph, and he reached 108.5 mph on the double in the eighth inning. He’s batting .272/.363/.465 with 17 homers in 443 plate appearances.

The 21-year-old is now slashing .268/.362/.459 with 16 homers and 52 RBI through 420 plate appearances. He slumped for a stretch, but he’s since heated right back up. The most impressive part of his rookie season is a 26.4% strikeout rate after he was right below 30% in the minors last season. Eldridge has batted in the top four spots of the lineup in every start since the All-Star break.

Eldridge put the Giants on the board right away, taking left-hander Quinn Matthews deep for a solo homer in the first inning. The home run ended a ten-game home run skid for the 21-year-old slugger. He’s up to 16 this season with 49 RBI while slashing .265/.361/.458 across 416 plate appearances.

Eldridge had RBI singles in the first and eighth innings and a two-run single in the fifth inning. Eldridge has 16 RBI in 22 games in August. He’s hitting .261 with an .804 OPS and 42 RBI this year.

Eldridge’s homer was his 15th of the season. The 21-year-old also drove in a run with a double, and it improves his slash to .254/.345/.448 in his rookie campaign. One of the most encouraging things about Eldridge’s season is that he’s been better against lefties than righties — a .792 OPS against southpaws compared to .776 against right-handers — and his homer today off Kohl Drake was his fifth against same-sided hurlers. He’s gonna be a good one.