Sandoval’s lengthy hitless streak adds to losing ways at Coors Field
DENVER >> Pablo Sandoval grounded out in the first inning of the Giants’ 4-3 loss at Coors Field Monday afternoon. He grounded out in the fourth inning. He bounced out once more in the sixth. A sharp comebacker in the ninth didn’t make it past Rockies pitcher Greg Holland.
Sandoval extended his hitless streak to 33 consecutive at-bats, which is the longest by a Giant in a generation. The last player to endure a hit-deprived wasteland of this magnitude was Johnnie “Boo” LeMaster in 1984. His Gobi Desert lasted 37 atbats.
Call Sandoval the Kung Boo Panda, then.
No, the Giants do not plan to pull the plug on the Sandoval experiment anytime soon. Not when their alternative at third base, Ryder Jones, is batting .192, backup Kelby Tomlinson hasn’t hit a home run in two seasons, Christian Arroyo is unavailable because of a fractured hand and Jaegyun Hwang is checking his seat assignment for his flight back to Seoul.
It’s becoming more and more apparent, though: the Giants’ starting third baseman next season is almost certainly not among the current players at manager Bruce Bochy’s disposal.
The Giants fell to 0-8 at Coors Field this season and lost on a bases-loaded
walk in a ninth inning that began with a misplay from left fielder Mac Williamson. As you might imagine, the immediate postgame aftermath probably wasn’t the sunniest time to ask Bochy about his alternatives at third base.
“We’ve got a few guys cold with the bats,” Bochy said brusquely. “It’s not like any of the young guys are tearing it up, either. I’m just being honest.
“He’s had some success here (at Coors Field) and against their pitcher (Chad Bettis). We’re trying to finish strong and give Pablo a good look here along with Jones and Williamson. We’re trying to get him going. We just gave Pablo a day off not too long ago.”
Sandoval can play for the minimum salary in each of the next two seasons, with the Boston Red Sox paying the rest, should the Giants keep him. That’s why he’s getting every chance to reestablish himself.
But his average is down to .196 in 97 at-bats, and his production has been even meeker than what he gave the Red Sox before they decided to eat the remaining $49 million on his contract through 2019.
On a day when the Giants’ Nos. 4-9 batters went 0 for 17, the Rockies didn’t even require a hit in the ninth inning to win the series opener, as Carlos Gonzalez drew a bases-loaded walk from Cory Gearrin – the last of three walks that the Giants issued in the inning that began with a defensive shortcoming.
“It all starts with that error, especially in this ballpark,” said Bochy, who had assumed that Charlie Blackmon’s catchable leadoff double was scored a different way.
Giants left-hander Steven Okert followed an intentional walk with an unintentional one, and Gearrin entered with the bases loaded and the infielders crowding him, and struck out Pat Valaika. But his first pitch down the middle to Gonzalez wasn’t called a strike, and he missed with the next three as the Rockies walked it off.
Said Bochy: “You hate losing a game like that. You do. They’ve got the top of their lineup coming up and Okert got the fly ball and we didn’t handle it.”
The Giants have the worst outfield defense in the National League by several metrics. But another area where the Giants have fallen short this season, the top of the order, came through with a productive afternoon. Denard Span and Joe Panik hit early home runs while combining for six hits. But outside of Span and Panik, the rest of the Giants combined for one hit. SURGERY FOR MELANCON >> Giants right-hander Mark Melancon confirmed that he would undergo surgery to alleviate pronator syndrome, which results in a chronic compression of a muscle in his right forearm.
The question is not whether he would have the procedure, but when.
Melancon said he wants to continue pitching through September and delay the surgery until after the season, for his own reasons as well as to aid a bullpen that he is being paid $62 million to anchor. But he acknowledged that the procedure would be scheduled sooner if he struggles to bounce back from outings or to be competitive.
The part that Melancon will not contest: he needs surgery. He has dealt all season with what the club has described as a strained pronator — one of two major muscles where the forearm attaches to the elbow. The 32-year-old former All-Star closer revealed that he has been diagnosed with pronator syndrome, a condition in which the sheath that covers the muscle does not allow it to expand and results in compressed nerves. As a result, his elbow constantly feels tight whether he is pitching or not.
The condition is analogous to carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrist.
Surgery would involve releasing the lacertus fibrosus and has a recovery time of two to three months.
“It’s super tight, the whole compartment,” said Melancon, who pitched around a walk while throwing a scoreless eighth inning Monday. “From what they say, I should be fine. … There aren’t a lot of cases like this, so it’s a difficult thing to diagnose.”
Melancon said his medical file shows notations going back to 2012 in which he reported similar symptoms, but he never had an MRI exam to diagnose the issue because the discomfort would subside within a couple weeks.
“This year, it’s never subsided,” he said.
Melancon, who has been on the disabled list twice this season, is 1-2 with a 4.13 ERA and 11 saves. He has yielded the closer role to right-hander Sam Dyson, although Bochy has said the ultimate plan is to have Melancon back in the role for which the Giants signed him.