Injuries becoming a bother for Giants

The Giants left for a six-day road trip to New York and Cincinnati and returned a bit more beat up than when they departed.

The cold rain in New York didn’t make it easy for some of these Giants to stay healthy. Joe Panik tweaked his groin leaving the batter’s box in last Friday’s otherwise demoralizing 13-1 loss to the Mets.

He’s been out five games and isn’t in the lineup for Thursday’s but Bruce Bochy said he should be ready to get back into it tomorrow.

Angel Pagan, the Giants’ hottest hitter, strained his hamstring rounding first in Sunday’s finale against the Mets. Bochy said he’s unlikely to return this series, but could make an appearance toward the end of this seven-game home stand.

Hunter Pence returned home with a tight back, but Bochy assures the injury should keep him on the bench (and available off the bench) for just one game.

On the bullpen side of things, George Kontos is nearing his return. He’ll pitch this Sunday for the Sacramento RiverCats, said Bochy on his rehab process:

“We don’t want to bring him back up here and baby him.”

Sergio Romo’s timetable is a bit more delayed. He isn’t expected back for another 3-4 weeks, said Bochy.

Shayna Rubin is SFBay’s San Francisco Giants beat writer. Follow @SFBay and @ShaynaRubin on Twitter and at SFBay.ca for full coverage of Giants baseball.