Giants mulling another rehab start for Vogelsong

ST. PETERSBURG -- Ryan Vogelsong's injury rehabilitation start Sunday for Double-A Richmond against New Hampshire was expected to be his last tuneup before rejoining the Giants' rotation.

That might not be the case.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy indicated Sunday that Vogelsong could make one more Minor League start, possibly next Friday for Triple-A Fresno at Iowa.

"The plan was to give him one more start," Bochy said before the Giants' series finale against Tampa Bay, revealing a plan that hadn't been widely circulated. "But that doesn't mean we can't deviate from that."

Admitting that it sounded paradoxical, Bochy said that he wanted Vogelsong to experience adversity -- for instance, pitching with runners on base -- to acclimate him to conditions he'll face in a Major League game.

Though the injury that sidelined Vogelsong resulted from an accident, a pitch thrown by Washington's Craig Stammen that fractured his throwing hand in a May 20 game, Bochy cited the World Baseball Classic as a possible source of the right-hander's struggles. Even after throwing five shutout innings in the game when he was injured, Vogelsong's ERA was an inflated 7.19.

"The question with the WBC is going to come up, because he did crank it up early," Bochy said, referring to the extra work Vogelsong engaged in to become Team USA's No. 2 starter. "Whether it took a toll on him, you don't know."