LOS ANGELES _ Five San Francisco Giants infielders have missed a combined 141 games due to injury this season, but none are as valuable to the club as Gold Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford.
After a frightening collision down the left field line involving Crawford and left fielder Gorkys Hernandez, they became far less concerned with the result of an eventual 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers as their attention turned to Crawford's health.
Though the Giants can't lose Crawford if they hope to stay alive in the National League West, they couldn't lose Monday's game either.
Pinch hitter Nick Hundley made sure they didn't.
Down to their last out in the bottom of the ninth, Hundley stepped up with the bases loaded and ripped a go-ahead two-run single off reliever Scott Alexander to stun the Dodgers and help the Giants pull within 5 games in the National League West.
After Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw stifled the Giants over eight innings of one-run ball, Hundley's two-run single keyed a four-run ninth inning outburst that sent Dodger Stadium erupting in boos.
The Giants entered the ninth inning just 2-51 in games they trailed after the eighth inning, but Hundley's heroics coupled with an RBI from Hernandez and an error by first baseman Max Muncy led to a stunning rally.
That rally left the Giants optimistic about their chances of competing in their division, but they'll need Crawford to achieve that mission.
While pursuing a Kershaw RBI double in the bottom of the fourth inning Monday, Crawford's head crashed into Hernandez's left knee on a play that sent members of the Giants' training staff racing toward shallow left field.
Crawford initially stayed in the game to hit, but he was replaced by infielder Alen Hanson in the bottom of the fifth.
Due to injuries that wiped out key members of their starting rotation and infield, the Giants haven't played a single game this season with the healthy 25-man roster they envisioned heading into the final week of spring training.
Johnny Cueto's season-ending Tommy John surgery ensured the Giants' front office it won't have the chance to see the team they built at full-strength this year, but club executives were desperately hoping to play out the final seven weeks of the season without losing any additional core players.
The Giants didn't announce any specifics regarding the injury Crawford suffered, but it's likely that he'll enter concussion protocol.
Crawford would be the third Giants' major league player to enter concussion protocol in the last two weeks, as Hundley and Buster Posey passed all tests and avoided disabled list stints after being evaluated for symptoms.
Kershaw's looping double that fell between Crawford and Hernandez led to the first run of the game for the Dodgers as catcher Austin Barnes scored from first after reaching on a two-out single. Los Angeles struck again in the bottom of the fifth as third baseman Justin Turner launched a long home run into the left field bleachers to extend the Dodgers' lead to 2-0.
The collision took the spotlight off a highly anticipated pitching matchup between Kershaw and Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, who met for the 11th time in their major league careers.
No active pitchers have faced each other head-to-head more often than the left-handed rivals, who split their first 10 meetings. While Kershaw and Bumgarner were impressive on the mound Monday, they also recorded hits off of one another that sparked rallies for their respective clubs.
In the top of the sixth, Bumgarner laced a single past Turner that allowed rookie Steven Duggar to advance to third base. Duggar later scored on a groundout by Andrew McCutchen.
Should Crawford need to miss more than a handful of games, he would become the sixth different Giants infielder to hit the disabled list this season.
Hanson is a defensive liability while fellow utility player Chase d'Arnaud, who started at second base Monday, has played just 56 games at short in his career. A trip to the disabled list for Crawford would likely compel the Giants to promote shortstop Kelby Tomlinson from Triple-A Sacramento, who has improved his range but has hit just .226 in 124 at-bats in the big leagues this year.
