CINCINNATI -- The Giants got a game-winning homer from their designated hitter on Thursday, but it'll be a while before they see the other right-handed hitter who was supposed to get at-bats in that spot.
Jerar Encarnacion had surgery on his fractured left hand Friday in Los Angeles and will be in a splint for the next two weeks. The Giants are estimating an eight-week return to play, which manager Bob Melvin said was the expectation all along.
Encarnacion was headed for a lot of DH time and would have started against every lefty, either as the DH or an outfielder. Without him, Casey Schmitt is the DH on Saturday against Cincinnati Reds lefty Nick Lodolo. Wilmer Flores is the first baseman and Luis Matos is in right field. Schmitt has a .725 OPS against lefties in the big leagues and hit them well this spring.
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"You look at the history and he does some damage there," Melvin said of Schmitt. "It's one of the reasons he made the team."
With Schmitt and Matos in the lineup, only Sam Huff and Christian Koss haven't played thus far. Huff will catch Robbie Ray on Sunday and Melvin said he'll look for an opportunity on this trip to get Koss his MLB debut.
Back to Sac
David Villar cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento. There wasn't a spot for Villar this spring and he was out of options, so earlier in the week the Giants had designated him for assignment to clear a 40-man spot for reliever Lou Trivino.
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Melvin said multiple times this spring that he hoped Villar could get an opportunity in the big leagues elsewhere, but he's now in limbo a bit. He returns to the River Cats, but without a spot on the 40-man roster, which makes it more difficult to get back to the big leagues.
The River Cats were short on position players in their opener, carrying just 11 of them. Villar should be their starting third baseman.
Hot Start
Marco Luciano got his Triple-A season off to a hot start, hitting a three-run homer in the opener on Friday night and walking twice. Luciano is playing left field this season and the Giants are hopeful that taking some defensive concerns off his plate leads to a surge in the batter's box.
"We saw some good at-bats from him when we were there for the exhibition game," Melvin said.
Nothing is imminent for the 23-year-old. The Giants optioned him early in camp and want him to play every day for several weeks at least and get comfortable in the outfield.
It was a good night for a very deep River Cats pitching staff. Right-hander Carson Seymour struck out eight over four scoreless innings and hit 97 mph with his sinker. Joel Peguero, the last cut in the bullpen, pitched the ninth and averaged 99.8 mph with his fastball, which hit triple digits three times.
Going Viral
How popular is Jung Hoo Lee in his home country? Both Luis Matos and Mike Yastrzemski did interviews with South Korean reporters on Saturday morning, simply because they showed up in a video the Giants put out of the three outfielders enjoying Korean BBQ this spring.