San Francisco Giants stay unbeaten in games Pablo plays for them

The San Francisco Giants haven’t lost a game in which Pablo Sandoval was in their lineup since October 28, 2014.

The San Francisco Giants had “reunion” as the main theme for tonight. Whether it was Pablo Sandoval making wild throws on the run and doubling into the left-center gap, or the 1997 team, there were plenty of reunions to go around.

Pablo Sandoval went 1-3, hitting the ball really hard twice. His first few at-bats were hard grounders to second, but he finally flipped that outside pitch the other way in his third at bat, sparking the Giants big comeback. In the seventh inning, Jarrett Parker followed with a double off the wall. Hunter Pence followed that with a big homer to left, scoring Parker. Buster Posey got a GIDP w/RISP RBI in the eighth, and Sam Dyson squeaked out of his own mess in the top of the ninth.

In the tenth inning, it was a Denard Span leadoff double that got it started for the Giants. Diamond-Backs pitcher, T.J. McFarland, is a sinker baller. He walked Kelby Tomlinson to get the double play, and got it. He then walked Buster Posey, because that was the smart thing to do. That left it up to Jarrett Parker, who beat the shift with a hard hit grounder into left-field, giving the Giants a 10 inning, walk-off win against the Diamondbacks.

Next: Remembering Beck and Hamilton

Game Notes

1. Pablo Sandoval made good contact tonight. It was his timing that was a little off. It returned when he flipped that double the other way, giving fans a glimpse of the Panda of 2014.
2. The Giants moved to 2-0 in their last two games in which Pablo Sandoval started at third base. If you recall, the last time he played there, the Giants won a ring in that game.
3. Chris Stratton wasn’t impressive, and the bullpen had to bail him out tonight. What’s frustrating is that arms like his likely won’t stick, but Matt Cain is so bad that the little upside Stratton has outweighs running Cain out there the rest of the season.
4. Ryder Jones continues to struggle at the big league level. The Giants should think about just sending him down and having him stay in AAA until next season. He has potential, and plenty of time as he’s only 22, but he wasn’t a finished product when called up this year, and at this point, continuing to look/feel overmatched in every at-bat is probably more damaging to his development than it is helping.