CHICAGO -- Reflecting the upgraded condition of Eduardo Núñez's strained right hamstring, the Giants added the third baseman to their 25-man active roster for the National League Division Series, which begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 PT Friday at Wrigley Field against the Cubs in Chicago (FS1).
Nunez, batting .269 with 13 steals in 50 games since the Giants acquired him from Minnesota on July 28, hasn't played since he injured himself on Sept. 25 at San Diego.
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Giants manager Bruce Bochy said that Nunez would be available to pinch-hit. "We wouldn't have activated him if he couldn't," Bochy said. "He's making a lot of improvement. So he'll be a right-handed bat coming off the bench." Conor Gillaspie replaced Nunez in the lineup at third base, and utility man Ehire Adrianza was dropped from the roster.
The Giants also increased the pitching staff to 12 by adding left-handers Ty Blach and Matt Moore. As starting pitchers, neither was needed for the NL Wild Card Game roster.
Moore will start Game 4, if necessary. Blach, the rookie left-hander who pitched an eight-inning three-hitter to beat the Dodgers on the season's next-to-last day, will be used as a long reliever. Blach's ability to perform in that role accounted for Bochy's decision to keep him on the roster instead of lefty Steven Okert.
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"It's hard to go into a series like this and not have a long guy. We saw what happened to Washington," Bochy said, referring to the 18-inning marathon in Game 2 of the 2014 Division Series in which Yusmeiro Petit pitched six innings while the Nationals exhausted their bullpen. "I'd love to have Okert, too. I'd love to have a lot of them. But we have to trim it down."
Completing the outfield contingent, Bochy opted for veteran Grégor Blanco over Jarrett Parker. Bochy explained this choice by citing Blanco's versatility, which eclipsed Parker's power potential.
The full roster:
PITCHERS (12)
Ty Blach
Madison Bumgarner
Santiago Casilla
Johnny Cueto
George Kontos
Derek Law
Javier López
Matt Moore
Sergio Romo
Jeff Samardzija
Will Smith
Hunter Strickland
CATCHERS (2)
Buster Posey
Trevor Brown
INFIELDERS (6)
Brandon Belt
Brandon Crawford
Conor Gillaspie
Eduardo Nunez
Joe Panik
Kelby Tomlinson
OUTFIELDERS (5)
Gregor Blanco
Gorkys Hernández
Ángel Pagán
Hunter Pence
Denard Span