Sandoval’s prep is still influencing players

On Opening Day in Philadelphia, Phillies ace Aaron Nola was putting the finishing touches on a masterpiece when an Atlanta Braves pinch-hitter stepped into the batter’s box.

With two strikes and two outs, Nola was one strike away from completing seven shutout innings. Then he threw Pablo Sandoval an inside fastball and a banner day was ruined.

Sandoval turned on the pitch and deposited a game-tying tworun blast into the right-field bleachers at Citizens Bank Park. The 92-mile per hour four-seamer left Sandoval’s bat at 111 miles per hour, giving him 150 career home runs on the first day of his 14th season in the major leagues.

Up in Seattle where the Giants were preparing for a season-opener against the Mariners, Sandoval’s old teammates couldn’t have been

surprised. Some of them still pattern their approach as a pinch-hitter based on the way they watched the Panda prepare.

“It’s really cool to be able to learn from guys like Pablo who did really well in pinch-hit situations,” outfielder Mike Yastrzemski said.

Yastrzemski, who had his locker stationed next to Sandoval’s in the Giants home clubhouse during the 2019 season, has clearly benefitted from studying his former teammate.

With Monday’s series opener in San Diego tied 2-2, Yastrzemski came off the bench to pinch-hit in the seventh inning and drilled a 2-0 fastball from Padres reliever Craig Stammen over the center field wall. The Giants won 3-2 thanks to the outfielder’s tie-breaking blast, which marked his second career pinch-hit home run.

Sandoval, a career .310 hitter with an .856 OPS in pinch-hit spots, has four career pinch homers.

“I just watched him when he was getting ready for his at-bat,” Yastrzemski said of Sandoval. “Everybody knows him as this funloving guy, but the second there was a pinch-hit opportunity, he was quiet about his business, made sure that he was completely mentally checked in and ready to take his at-bat.”