Overview
- San Francisco started Bryce Eldridge at first base against the Dodgers, with Rafael Devers at designated hitter and Casey Schmitt at third base.
- Eldridge had been out of the lineup for three of the previous four games after his early-May call-up to boost a weak offense.
- Through his first five big-league games he is 2-for-14 with one home run, including a pinch-hit walk in his most recent bench appearance.
- Manager Tony Vitello has said Devers is the everyday first baseman and Schmitt is producing, so the team plans spot starts, DH turns, and pinch-hit work for Eldridge and views him as a long-term piece.
- Eldridge says he accepts the role and is building a pinch-hitting routine, even as fans and some media question sitting a power prospect on a club that ranks low in runs and home runs.