NEW YORK -- Third baseman Eduardo Núñez was not included on the Giants' 25-man roster for Wednesday night's National League Wild Card Game against the Mets (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ESPN), due to the speedster's injured right hamstring.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy said that Nunez's condition had improved, but he acknowledged that his progress was "slower than anticipated."
The Giants had hoped to capitalize on Nunez's considerable speed against Mets starter Noah Syndergaard, whose pitching motion leaves him vulnerable to basestealers. The right-hander surrendered a Major League-high 48 stolen bases this season. Nunez, the fastest Giant, stole 40 bases in 2016, including 13 in 50 games with San Francisco.
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The Giants included two starting pitchers on their active staff to provide relief help: right-handers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija, who has considerable experience pitching out of the bullpen. Bochy opted for them over right-handed reliever Cory Gearrin, who limited opponents to a .233 batting average.
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Bochy pointed out that Cueto or Samardzija could appear in long relief if necessary, besides being suited for righty-on-righty matchup situations.
Other right-handers kept on the active roster included rookie Derek Law, who has overcome the strained right elbow that forced him onto the disabled list in late August, and Hunter Strickland, who blew five of eight save opportunities, but appeared in a career-high 72 games.
Veteran right-handers Matt Cain and Jake Peavy did not make the roster. Cain, a postseason hero for San Francisco in 2010 and '12, pitched 5 2/3 innings in four September outings. Peavy logged 10 innings in 10 games during the season's final two months. Bochy said that pitching coach Dave Righetti discussed the situation with Cain and Peavy.
Bochy indicated that it's impossible to accommodate every pitcher.
"Every year we go through that," he said, citing left-hander Barry Zito's exclusion from the postseason rosters in 2010 and two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum's demotion to relief in '12 and '14.
San Francisco's Wild Card Game roster features 11 pitchers, two catchers, six infielders and six outfielders.
Pitchers (11)
Madison Bumgarner
Santiago Casilla
Cueto
George Kontos
Law
Javier López
Steven Okert
Sergio Romo
Samardzija
Will Smith
Strickland
Catchers (2)
Trevor Brown
Buster Posey
Infielders (6)
Ehire Adrianza
Brandon Belt
Brandon Crawford
Conor Gillaspie
Joe Panik
Kelby Tomlinson
Outfielders (6)
Grégor Blanco
Gorkys Hernández
Ángel Pagán
Jarrett Parker
Hunter Pence
Denard Span