San Francisco Giants' Hunter Strickland will undergo surgery on his fractured right pitching hand after the reliever punched a door following Monday evening's disastrous outing.
Strickland, 29, allowed three earned runs on a trio of hits and two walks against the Miami Marlins in the ninth inning, coughing up a two-run lead and, subsequently, the game. The occasional closer will miss at least six-to-eight weeks, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports.
"I'm sure he felt fully responsible (for the loss). He didn't think before it happened," Giants manager Bruce Bochy told Pavlovic.
Monday's quagmire was the fourth blown save and third loss of the season for Strickland. The right-hander owns a 2.84 ERA and 3.31 FIP over 31 2/3 innings, with 13 saves. Right-hander Sam Dyson and southpaw Tony Watson will now share ninth-inning duties, with former closer Mark Melancon a possible candidate for saves as well.
Shortly after news of the injury was released, Strickland posted to Instagram, with a lengthy statement as the caption.
After the third inning, the Giants held a 4-0 lead. However, Miami scored a pair in the top of the fifth before getting to Strickland for three in the ninth. After RBIs from J.T. Realmuto, Lewis Brinson, and Miguel Rojas gave their club a 5-4 advantage, the Marlins turned it over to Kyle Barraclough for his sixth save of the year.