CINCINNATI — San Francisco Giants pitching coach Dave Righetti recalled a day from his boyhood when he flipped through a scrapbook of his father’s minor league playing days and found a startling photo.

“There’s a guy carried out on a stretcher,” Righetti said. “It was a big one, glossy, 8 by 10.”
It was his father. Leo Righetti had been struck in the head by a fastball. This was in the 1940s, when batters didn’t wear helmets. He was in a coma for at least one day, maybe two.
“It’s been part of the game from the beginning,” said Dave Righetti.
A baseball player won’t last if he’s afraid of the ball, whether standing in the batter’s box or on the mound. Righetti is almost certain that Matt Cain will have no fear on Thursday, when he starts for the first time after his fastball to the helmet sent the New York Mets’ David Wright to the hospital.
“But we’ll just have to wait and see,” Righetti said. “It’s a part of the game that really changes people’s lives, how they react.”
Righetti didn’t think Cain would shy away from throwing inside when the situation dictates it. He pointed out that Cain retired 11 of 13 hitters after he crouched in the grass while watching trainers attend to Wright.
“You go through different things in this game, different tests,” Righetti said. “He’s done such a good job facing all of them. This is another. We talked about it a little bit, and that remains between us, but I think he’ll be fine.”
—Second baseman Freddy Sanchez missed his second consecutive game because of a sore left shoulder and is expected to miss Thursday’s series finale, too.
Sanchez felt discomfort last week while doing a drill in the cage where he finishes long with his swing. He aggravated it while stretching to make several plays Monday in New York.
“It had gotten better as games went along, but the last game in New York, it got worse,” Sanchez said. “That was disappointing. I may have a little strain there.”
Sanchez said he didn’t think tests were necessary. He almost talked his way into taking batting practice.
“I’m fighting to get back out there,” Sanchez said. “At the same time, we’ve got a lot of baseball left. I don’t want to set it back.”