The Giants will be without the Brandons for Thursday night’s series opener against the Pirates at PNC Park.

First baseman Brandon Belt was scratched from the lineup with left side tightness, while shortstop Brandon Crawford did not start due to side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine.

LaMonte Wade Jr., who was activated from the 10-day injured list after missing a month with a left oblique strain, started at first in Belt’s place. Mauricio Dubón replaced Crawford at shortstop.

Belt has been dealing with the side issue for about a week, which led to an early exit from the Giants’ 4-2 win over the Rangers on Tuesday.

“It’s something that I’ve dealt with before,” Belt said afterward. “It’s really not a huge deal, but it can become a bigger deal if you don’t watch it. I think it was just mainly precautionary. I’m going to stay on top of it with treatment and everything like that. It should be fine.”

Primarily an outfielder, Wade was initially scheduled to start in left field against Pirates right-hander Wil Crowe on Thursday before shifting to the infield to make his fifth career start at first base in the Majors. The 27-year-old lefty bat played first base in college, and also saw action there during Spring Training with the Giants this year.

Acquired from the Twins in exchange for right-hander Shaun Anderson in the offseason, Wade was 2-for-6 with a double in three games with the Giants before landing on the IL last month.

“We’re going to give Wade a chance to play tonight’s game and see how he looks,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “He was swinging the bat very well when he went on the IL, and we want to give him an opportunity to show us what he can do.”

Wade took the roster spot of left-handed reliever José Álvarez, who was placed on the 10-day IL with a left ankle sprain, retroactive to Monday. Kapler said Álvarez sustained a “mild” sprain after rolling his ankle in the Giants’ weight room earlier this week. The 32-year-old veteran has recorded a 4.35 ERA over 12 appearances since joining San Francisco on a one-year, $1.15 million deal in February.

Solano update
Kapler said second baseman Donovan Solano (right calf strain) is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento this weekend in Oklahoma City. Solano, 33, will run the bases before he officially returns to game action in the Minors.