SF Giants: LaMonte Wade Jr. scratched with side tightness vs. Padres

The SF Giants scratched first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. from the starting lineup against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday with right side tightness.

Marc Delucchi | Jun 20, 2023

SF Giants: LaMonte Wade Jr. scratched with side tightness vs. Padres /

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The SF Giants scratched first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. from the lineup on Tuesday night with right side tightness. Wade was scheduled to lead off for the Giants against the San Diego Padres but was removed roughly an hour before the first pitch. It's unclear when Wade's side began bothering him. David Villar entered the starting lineup at first base in his place, batting ninth.

SF Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. hits a three-run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium on June 17, 2023. — SF Giants 1B LaMonte Wade Jr. hits a home run against the Dodgers. (2023) / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Wade has arguably been the best player on the Giants this season. After an injury-marred 2022 campaign, Wade is hitting .280/.415/.463 with 11 doubles, a triple, and nine home runs in 68 games this season, with nearly as many walks (47) as strikeouts (49). The Giants have been depleted by injuries over the past couple of weeks and would find it exceedingly difficult to replace Wade's presence at the top of the lineup.

Villar has struggled mightily this season and has been optioned to Triple-A multiple times. While he has five home runs in 117 big-league plate appearances this season, Villar has an abysmal .154/.239/.346 triple-slash.

The SF Giants will put their eight-game winning streak on the line tonight at Oracle Park against the San Diego Padres. However, they will have to do it without one of their most important players after LaMonte Wade Jr. was scratched from the lineup with right side tightness.

Published Jun 20, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).