Sandoval makes pitching debut against Dodgers
Infielder records 1-2-3 ninth in Game 1 loss of split against L.A.
SAN FRANCISCO >> With a doubleheader on the calendar, the Giants began Saturday thinking their pitching staff would need to record at least 54 outs.
They did not, however, expect Pablo Sandoval to appear out of the bullpen.
In the top of the ninth inning of a 15-6 blowout loss to the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon, Sandoval became the first position player to pitch for the Giants since Greg Litton appeared on July 4, 1991 against the Astros.
“At the end of the day, it’s one of the moments that everyone was in the dugout watching the game,” Sandoval said. “It was exciting to get the team together. We lost the game but we had a little fun at the end of the game.”
Sandoval recorded a perfect 1-2-3 ninth inning, making the first appearance of his career hours after starter Chris Stratton recorded just four outs and allowed six runs.
Until Johnny Cueto retired the Dodgers in order in the second inning of the Giants’ 8-3 win on Saturday night, Sandoval’s inning was the only frame in which a Giants pitcher faced the minimum.
“He did bring some levity to a real long game,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “The club needed it in this respect. We’re trying to save some arms here for tonight and tomorrow.”
Even though Cueto served up a two-run first inning homer to Corey Seager in the doubleheader nightcap, he regrouped and gritted through six innings before exiting with 4-2 lead.
After letting the first three batters of the game reach base, Cueto didn’t allow a hit the rest of the night.
San Francisco took its first lead of the night thanks to an offseason acquisition brought in to address one of the club’s glaring issues during a 98-loss campaign.
Last season, the Giants couldn’t hit lefties. Austin Jackson could.
With the bases loaded in bottom of the fifth inning on Saturday evening, a three-run double from Jackson against southpaw Alex Wood erased the 2-0 deficit. Jackson hit .352 against lefties with the Cleveland Indians last season, but after his first month with the Giants, the ninth-year veteran didn’t have
a single extra base hit against a left-handed pitcher.
He couldn’t have picked a better time to deliver.
After consecutive one-out singles from Brandon Belt, Kelby Tomlinson and Brandon Crawford, Jackson came to the plate with the Giants trailing and Bochy facing a critical decision.
If Jackson struck out, as he had in 27 of his 67 at-bats entering the fifth inning, the skipper likely would have turned to Nick Hundley, who was out on deck to pinch hit for Cueto. If Jackson grounded into a double play, as he had three times this season, the Giants’ rally would have been killed.
Instead, he smashed a 2-1 changeup from Wood into the left field corner to clear the bases.
“Relief,” Jackson said, when asked how his swing felt. “It’s just one of those things where you try to bear down and forget about the other at-bats.”
Belt, Tomlinson and Evan Longoria added RBI hits in the late innings as the Giants pummeled the Dodgers’ bullpen to wrap up their second win of the series.
After Roberto Gomez and Derek Law each set careerhighs with their pitch counts following Stratton’s early exit in the afternoon defeat, Bochy called on relievers Reyes Moronta, Sam Dyson, Hunter Strickland and even rookie D.J. Snelten to help record the final nine outs.
Dyson escaped a bases loaded jam in the seventh before Snelten made his Major League debut in the eighth inning with a perfect frame.
“I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to come up here and show what I have,” Snelten said. “To be in a rivalry such as that and compete is a blessing in its own.”
• Joe Panik was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left thumb sprain after suffering the injury during Friday’s win.
Bochy revealed Panik will have a second opinion on the injury, but could be on the shelf for well over a month and may require surgery.
The Giants also lost outfielder Mac Williamson, as he was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list after failing to pass one of the tests required in concussion protocol.