SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants absorbed yet another injury blow on Monday night, when they lost rookie starter Blade Tidwell to right elbow discomfort in the fourth inning of their 5-2 win over the Twins at Oracle Park.
Tidwell, 25, opened his start with three scoreless innings, but he surrendered a leadoff home run to Brooks Lee in the fourth and then immediately signaled toward the dugout after spiking a sweeper to Ryan Jeffers two batters later. Team trainer Ryo Watanabe came out to check on Tidwell, who ended up coming out of the game after throwing 57 pitches.
“I just felt a little discomfort,” Tidwell said. “I summoned them out there, and then they took me out of the game. I didn’t think there was any reason to risk it at this point of the year.”
Tidwell said he had never experienced a sensation like that before and expected to undergo an MRI exam on Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury.
“It sucks,” said outfielder Drew Gilbert, who also played with Tidwell at the University of Tennessee. “That’s one of my best friends, and obviously, we’ll wait and see what they say. Anytime you lose a teammate, it’s never fun.”
Tidwell experienced some ups and downs after becoming a full-time member of the Giants’ starting rotation following the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, but he delivered his best start of the year against the Cardinals last Tuesday, giving up two runs over a career-high 6 2/3 innings at Busch Stadium. Overall, he has a 4.45 ERA across 17 appearances (nine starts) for San Francisco this year.
“I saw a lot of positives and stuff to build off of going into the offseason,” Tidwell said. “The last few starts, I felt like I really grew as a pitcher. It was nice.”
Right-hander Tristan Beck came in to replace Tidwell and ultimately earned the win after tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.