Sanchez on hot streak at the plate

GLENDALE — The following are updates on area Major League Baseball players.

Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College, 1998) second baseman, San Francisco Giants: Despite a 1-0 stumble against the Florida Marlins in which he went one for three with a walk, Sanchez has been heating up lately, building his average up to .294 after the Thursday loss to the Marlins.

The 33-year-old has hit safely in five straight games, going 10 for 21 in the span and raising his average 24 points. Over the last 10 games, he's gone 17 for 40 with five multi-hit games, highlighted by a four-for-six outing Wednesday. The game was notable in that the Giants lost, 7-6, in 12 innings on a sacrifice fly in which Giants starting catcher Buster Posey was run over at the plate by Scott Cousins and has subsequently been lost for the season due to multiple injuries.

For the season, Sanchez is hitting .294 with 16 runs, 16 runs batted in, 12 doubles, a pair of home runs and 10 walks.

After Thursday's loss, the Giants, the defending World Series champions, are 27-22 with a two-game lead in the National League West Division over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Sanchez and Co., losers of three straight, will open up a road set tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Brandon McCarthy (Glendale native) starting pitcher, Oakland Athletics: Despite sporting just a 1-4 record, McCarthy was turning in solid starts for the A's, going six or more innings in each of his last four starts and tallying quality starts in each of them.

However, McCarthy's comeback from a previous season of injury and minor league action hit a road bump as he was recently placed on the 15-day disabled list. The news came on May 20, as McCarthy went to the DL with a shoulder injury — a stress reaction in his right scapula.

"I didn't really feel this coming on until a few days before my last start. It just kind of turned into something where I couldn't recover," McCarthy told mlb.com in regard to an injury he's incurred three times in his career. "I've gotten hypersensitive to it, so when it came up last week I alerted them so that everyone was aware. I've gotten to the point where I can feel it right away. Coming out of my last start, we had it checked out and found it again.