the 3-2 win over the Braves<\/a>. \u201cPainful.\u201d<\/p>\nA date with an MRI machine seems more likely for Adames than a return to the starting lineup when the Giants begin their series against the Diamondbacks on Monday.<\/p>\n
Adames exited the game after the seventh with lower back spasms.<\/p>\n
The issue has been bothering him for some time, dating back close to a week, he said. But after a few days of \u201cgrinding,\u201d the ailment caught up to him late in Sunday\u2019s win.<\/p>\n
His back locked up on him in his first at-bat, \u201cand it just stayed there,\u201d Adames said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn that last at-bat, it just got worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schmitt, who was a late scratch from Sunday\u2019s lineup with a severe case of the flu going around the Giants\u2019 clubhouse, was forced to enter the game at shortstop.<\/p>\n
With the Giants removing Buddy Kennedy from the roster to clear space for Heliot Ramos\u2019 return, Schmitt was the only infielder left for manager Tony Vitello on the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into the cage and telling him he was at shortstop, it was like waking a drunk guy up for a job interview,\u201d Vitello joked. \u201cHe didn\u2019t look good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before the game, Vitello acknowledged that the Giants were \u201ca little short-handed probably relative to other teams\u201d on the infield after the pregame roster moves.<\/p>\n
That now comes to a head with their starting shortstop potentially down at least in the short term and his only capable backup more focused on pounding fluids than fielding ground balls.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/20260628_szo_ca3_0201.jpg\")
D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Christian Koss, who fractured his left wrist shortly after being demoted to Triple-A Sacramento, could be a \u201ccandidate\u201d if the Giants need to add another infielder, Vitello said. It would be a short commute to Chase Field: He has played four rehab games in the Arizona Complex League.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably offensively he\u2019s not going to be in the position that he would want to be or that we would want him in,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cBut defensively, he could wake up out of bed and be ready to rock and roll defensively at any of those three spots.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing is to work through what Willy\u2019s got going on and see where he\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n
It has been a difficult season for Adames, 30, in more than just his production, which has been below the standards for someone in the second season of a seven-year, $182 million contract.<\/p>\n
If Adames is forced to miss any time, he will already be on pace to play fewer games than either of the previous two seasons. He already missed a game with discomfort in his \u201cknee to hip\u201d area, as Vitello described it, as well as another standard rest day earlier in the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like this year, there\u2019s always been something going on with my body,\u201d Adames said. \u201cIt is what it is, there\u2019s always something happening. You just grind it out. \u2026 [But] this year has been the worst, I would say, for my body.\u201d<\/p>\n
After hitting two home runs last week in the Giants\u2019 doubleheader sweep of the Braves in Atlanta, Adames said he didn\u2019t \u201cfeel the best right now.\u201d Soon thereafter, the back issues began.<\/p>\n
In 18 games since June 6, Adames has 11 hits and 23 strikeouts in 69 at-bats, a .159 batting average. For the season, his .275 on-base percentage would represent a career low, and his defense at shortstop has been the worst in the majors, according to Statcast\u2019s metric Outs Above Average.<\/p>\n
Adames\u2019 struggles are a big reason the Giants\u2019 season has been such a disappointment. Now, as they look to build on their first winning homestand since the end of April, Adames may be forced to watch from the dugout bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sucks,\u201d Adames said of the unfortunate timing. \u201cObviously I want to be out there every day. It feels that we\u2019re getting some momentum. That\u2019s why I want to be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 It takes a lot for Willy Adames, who played 160 games last year and 161…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":738133,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2394],"tags":[191,46,4166,5,192,4,38738,66,185],"class_list":["post-738132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-atlanta-braves","tag-atlanta","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-atlantabraves","tag-baseball","tag-braves","tag-mlb","tag-northern-california","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116830588403611429","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2283756766.jpg\")
Getty Images<\/p>\n