SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Giants decided Tuesday to give injured center fielder and leadoff man Andres Torres a little bit longer to heal from a strained left Achilles' tendon before determining whether he needs a stint on the disabled list for the World Series champions.
Torres already has shown significant progress since hurting himself Saturday night making a play against St. Louis. He is scheduled to hit live batting practice before Wednesday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, then have Thursday's off day to rest.
Manager Bruce Bochy said if Torres is fine after that, he could be ready to return sometime during this weekend's series at Arizona.
"He's doing better," Bochy said. "He's improved quite a bit each day. He's going to hit tomorrow. We like the progress he's made. He came in the first day and made tons of improvements. We like where he is right now enough that we're going to give it another day."
San Francisco's medical staff knows Torres is a quick healer, too.
In his first full big-league season last year, Torres came back in rapid fashion from an emergency appendectomy Sept. 12 in San Diego after missing only 11 games. He helped the Giants during the stretch run on their way to clinching the club's first NL West crown since 2003.
The switch-hitting Torres toiled through parts of 12 years in the minors - eight of those at the Triple-A level - before getting his shot. He took over as the regular starter in center last May in place of veteran Aaron Rowand.
Rowand started in center and batted leadoff Tuesday night in the middle game against the Dodgers.
Torres batted .268 with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs last year, then played through pain throughout the playoffs. Still, Torres hit .276 with a home run and three RBIs in 15 postseason games. He hit four doubles and stole two bases.
Torres stopped wearing a walking boot Tuesday and said he isn't in pain.
"I feel better. We'll just see what happens," he said. "We want to make sure this is 100 percent. I don't want to rush. It's an injury you have to get 100 percent."
