SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle
The standard "win mix" of music filled the Giants' clubhouse after Saturday night's 10-4 victory, which was a good thing. On a day that could have been much worse and left the room silent, the news from a nearby hospital brought relief.
In the fourth inning, Pat Burrell hit a vicious line drive into the Giants' dugout that hit utilityman Eugenio Velez squarely on the left side of the face. He was screened by players standing along the rail and did not see it coming. After trainers and a team doctor treated him in the dugout, Velez left on a stretcher.
The team said Velez sustained a concussion, but nothing more, "no skull fracture, nothing," manager Bruce Bochy said after learning the results of a CT scan.
"I saw it. It was a scary moment. It hit him good. We were all concerned about him. He wasn't real responsive early, but he's fine."
The Giants did not announce a roster move but almost certainly will place Velez on the disabled list before they try to complete a four-game sweep of the Diamondbacks and a 6-1 trip behind Tim Lincecum this afternoon. They already will be a man down because Pablo Sandoval was to fly to Venezuela for a personal matter and miss the next two games.
Infielder Ryan Rohlinger was pulled from Saturday's game at Triple-A Fresno in the second inning, which might mean he will be promoted.
As Velez was examined at the hospital, the team won for the 14th time in 17 games.
Madison Bumgarner won his fourth consecutive start with seven innings of two-run ball. Juan Uribe hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to blast open a 3-1 game.
The Giants clinched their fourth consecutive road series win, a first since 2004.
Bumgarner continues to baffle hitters during his first tour through the league. During his win streak, opponents have touched him for only four earned runs in 26 2/3 innings. On Saturday, he walked three and struck out seven.
"The team scored 10 runs. It's not too hard to get a win when they hit like that," Bumgarner said. "I've definitely been getting a lot of run support and good defense behind me, which is great."
Edgar Renteria, hitting second as a slumping Freddy Sanchez watched from the bench, had a productive game with a double, single, walk, two runs scored and two scoring groundballs.
Buster Posey quickly eliminated any doubt over his hitting streak when he extended it to 17 games with a first-inning single. He caught Orlando Cepeda for the second-longest streak by a San Francisco rookie. Willie McCovey holds the record with 22.
Posey also hit an RBI single and drew a walk that loaded the bases before Uribe barely cleared the left-field wall on the first pitch from reliever Sam Demel. After the game, Uribe's thoughts were with Velez.
"He's a friend, my teammate," Uribe said. "Everybody feels bad when a ball hits a guy like that, the other team, too. Nobody wants to see a ball hit a player."
Play was stopped briefly as Velez went to the ground in the dugout. Burrell stared at the scene. He fouled out when play resumed and was removed after six innings for defense.
"Baseball's not exactly a contact sport, but it can be dangerous at times," said Burrell, who did not recall one of his foul balls ever hitting a player. "I'll tell you. It's a tough situation. Obviously you don't want to hit anybody, let alone somebody on your team."
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