Panda goes hitless as San Jose Giants DH
Pablo Sandoval’s three-day reunion with the San Jose Giants lost a bit of luster on day two.
After a raucous sellout crowd Saturday night at San Jose Municipal Stadium, (the game that was already sold out because of a postgame fireworks show) Sunday’s game saw a dip in attendance to watch the Panda. Sandoval was the designated hitter and batted third for the second consecutive night, going 0 for 3 with a couple of fly outs.
Batting left-handed in his first at-bat and facing Rancho Cucamonga’s Adam Bray, Sandoval grounded out to short on the second pitch.
Sandoval brought the fans to their feet in his second at-bat after smashing a pitch from Bray that appeared to be headed over the fence, but the ball died out at the warning track and remained in the ballpark for an out.
Swinging on the first pitch in his third plate appearance, Sandoval got under a pitch from Bray and flied out to center field.
Sandoval was not the only player unable to figure out Bray. The only thing that separated Rancho Cucamonga’s starter from pitching a perfect game was a single by Jonah Arenado in the third. San Jose ended up losing 5-0.
Sandoval is scheduled to play one more game with San Jose on Monday night against Modesto starting at 7 p.m. before heading out to play for Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, a 7:05 p.m. game against visiting Round Rock.