Susac goes on DL after spraining thumb

PHOENIX -- As expected, Giants catcher Andrew Susac was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday and subbed on the roster by Hector Sanchez.

Sanchez arrived from Tacoma in time for the final game of the three-game series against the D-backs at Chase Field. Sanchez, playing for Triple-A Sacramento, was removed from the game Saturday night. He flew out early Sunday morning.

Susac was removed from Saturday's 8-4 Giants victory in the fourth inning after spraining his right thumb sliding headfirst into third base, legging out a triple into the left-field corner.

Initial X-rays were negative and an MRI taken Sunday morning corroborated that diagnosis, revealing no ligament damage.

"The MRI did show a pretty good sprain in there," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said Sunday. "It looks like it's going to be 10 days to two weeks on Andrew, so we had to DL him. You have to have a backup catcher. The move has been made. Hector's had a little playing time so he's ready to go."

Sanchez had just returned after suffering a series of concussions.

Susac led off the fourth inning Saturday night with his second triple of the season and remained in the game long enough to score on Angel Pagan's sacrifice fly. But Susac knew right away the damage had been done.

Video: SF@ARI: Pagan pads the lead with a sacrifice fly

"I hit my thumb straight into the bag," he said after Saturday's game. "It was just a weird slide in general. Instantly I felt like it was pretty tight. So I went down to the tunnel and tried to throw a little bit and it just didn't feel right. It's pretty tight right now. It has all the symptoms of a sprain. I know because I've sprained my thumbs before."

Susac was lifted after the inning and was replaced behind the plate by Buster Posey, leaving the Giants without a legitimate backup catcher. Posey had started the game at first base and had four RBIs on a trio of singles.

Bochy said infielder Ehire Adrianza would have been the emergency catcher had anything happened to Posey on Saturday night.

"Adrianza, he was warming up the pitcher, he was ready to go," Bochy said. "I did tell him that after Andrew got hurt, 'You're the backup catcher,' and he was really excited. That's part of it, to find somebody who wants to do it."