SF Giants slugger's latest comeback ends as quickly as it began due to injury

SF Giants slugger Jerar Encarnacion was recently taken off the IL and looked to be getting hot at the plate with homers in his last two games. However, he exited Wednesday's game with a leg injury which brings his comeback to a halt.

Encarnacion was trying to leg out a base hit on a ground ball and appeared to injure his hamstring as he was grabbing at the back of his right leg after hustling down the first base line.

SF Giants may lose Jerar Encarnacion right as he was heating up

One never wants to assume the worst with an injury, but Encarnacion was immediately removed from the game and replaced by outfielder Grant McCray. Hamstring injuries are always dicey for players so it would not be a shock if he had to miss time.

Manager Bob Melvin reportedly was resigned to the fact that the slugger would have to miss time after the game and the early prognosis is not good.

The timing could not be worse, though. Encarnacion crushed a homer in last night's contest against Pittsburgh and then crushed another one in today's game. He was finally looking like the version of him we saw back in spring training before he injured his wrist and was out the first few months of the season.

He came back and had a very brief stint with the Giants where he did not do much at all at the plate before going down with an oblique injury. After a lengthy rehab assignment, he finally returned as the Giants sent outfielder Luis Matos down to make room for him.

The decision to send Matos down in favor of Encarnacion seemed like a puzzling one considering Matos has a better chance of being in the team's long-term plans. Yet, with the power Encarnacion was displaying these last two days he was reminding everyone of what he is capable of and the raw pop he possesses in his bat.

After the Giants traded away Mike Yastrzemski, the last two months seem like they will serve as an open audition in right field. Encarnacion, Matos, McCray, and even potentially Marco Luciano should all see time out there.

We will see how much time Encarnacion may have to miss after this latest injury, but if he does need another stint on the IL, he has simply had terrible luck with injuries this season which have robbed him of a chance to fully show the team what he can do.

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