Pagan day to day with sprained shoulder
SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants center fielder Angel Pagan was out of the starting lineup Sunday against Miami, one day after injuring his left shoulder while attempting to make a diving catch.
Pagan had an MRI that revealed a sprained shoulder but no major injury.
"Really, it was pretty good news for us," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said after his team's 4-1 victory over Miami. "We think it's going to be a couple days.
"He's day to day. We'll re-evaluate him on Tuesday. Our hope is he'll be OK to go on Tuesday. He seems to be doing better. For Angel, it's good to have two days to give him a break and Tuesday hopefully he can go out there and play. But I can't answer that right now."
Pagan landed hard on his left elbow and shoulder while attempting to make a diving catch in the top of the sixth inning on a line drive by Marlins first baseman Garrett Jones that went for a triple. Pagan got up slowly after his hard landing and rubbed his left shoulder, but he stayed in the game. When the top of the sixth ended, Pagan ran off the field slowly, his left arm hanging down. He struck out swinging in the eighth inning.
"Since it happened I didn't think it was anything serious," Pagan said Sunday. "Obviously I knew it was going to be really sore the next day, but we're always going to be cautious and see what's going on. So that's why I went this morning to get an MRI. So far just a strain in the AC joint a little bit. It's a day-to-day situation. I'm not really concerned. I think these two days off, today and tomorrow, will be good for me. We'll see how we go on Tuesday."
Pagan said he's taking anti-inflammatory medicine and is giving his shoulder complete rest.
When Pagan hurt his shoulder Saturday he was "pretty concerned" because he underwent surgery on the same shoulder in 2008 while playing for the New York Mets. In retrospect, Pagan thinks that surgery to repair a torn labrum may have prevented a more serious injury Saturday.
"I have like nine anchors in that labrum," Pagan said. "I was pretty concerned. You don't know how it's going to react the next day, but today it could be worse, so that's good news."
Pagan suffered the injury on May 7, 2008, during a game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles while playing left field. He caught a fly ball running full speed in foul territory and went over the wall and into the stands.
"My arm got caught in a chair," Pagan said. "It was ugly. I kept playing. I played for a couple more innings, but it was broken. I couldn't take it no more."
Pagan tried to rehabilitate the injury but wound up having surgery on July 29 that year.
Pagan, the Giants' leadoff hitter, missed much of last season after injuring his left hamstring in late May and undergoing surgery in June.
Pagan is hitting .321 with three home runs, 10 doubles, 15 RBIs and 21 runs scored.
Gregor Blanco started in center field Sunday.