It was a hot one in Kansas City on Monday when the San Francisco Giants battled the Royals. Game temperatures reached the mid-90s, with high humidity, which was the best indication that the two teams were somewhere in the Midwest in late July. It wore on Tony Vitello‘s club, as they fell to Kansas City, 4-3.
Perhaps the one most affected by the conditions and the gameplay was San Fran starter Trevor McDonald, who appeared to be getting barbecued under the Summer sun. Marinated in sweat, he looked exhausted – even though that wasn’t the reason that Vitello pulled him as he was warming up to begin the bottom of the fifth inning. The pitcher knew something was wrong and didn’t want to take any foolish chances, so he signalled the dugout; the decision to ice him down was made quickly after the hurler reported stiffness in his elbow.
Trevor McDonald left the game with a trainer before the bottom of the fifth inning pic.twitter.com/F6IHWpIin1
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 21, 2026
“Nothing that I want to chance right now, so just thought it was best to come out when I did,” McDonald explained after the game, “… I mean, we’ll take it day by day and see, and, you know, when I feel like I’m ready again, then I’ll be back out there.”
Giants Starters Continue to Scuffle
McDonald’s early exit was an illustration of the hard luck the ‘Frisco pitching staff has had this season. Marred by inconsistency with some nagging injuries, none of the starters have truly gotten a foothold in 026. And it shows in the standings; the Giants enter play on Tuesday with a mark of 42-58, in fourth place, and trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by a whopping 20.5 games. All before August even got here.
The pitching staff has been a mess. While the bullpen is one of the least effective in all of Major League Baseball (currently ranked 21st in MLB), there are just as many issues with the starters. Literally no one in the rotation has stepped forward to shine a little light in the midst of a losing streak.
The team just doesn’t have a true ‘Terminator’ among the regular five. So, any type of injury to McDonald, minimal or not, has to put management on notice: Buster Posey needs to revamp this entire team, but the array of arms must be addressed sooner than anything else.
Pending an MRI, both McDonald and the team have expressed that he’s being considered day-to-day. For how long he will be out is not yet known. While the severity of the elbow issue doesn’t appear to be serious, the 25-year-old could be placed on the 15-day injured list.
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