Tag Archives: Pablo Sandoval

SF Giants lineup: Bochy tweaks lineups for doubleheader vs. Cardinals

In St. Louis on Saturday, the Giants will be playing in their first doubleheader of the season, and they will do so with a bench that has been gutted by injuries. Pablo Sandoval is out and Angel Pagan is doubtful, leaving Bochy with just three reserves in each game. Whittle that number down to two because Quiroz and Posey will act as emergency catchers in games one and two respectively.

The plan is to pair Posey with Cain in the first game, then let Quiroz catch Bumgarner in the evening. Bochy emphasized that he wants Buster to catch Gaudin in his first start of the season on Sunday.

While Joaquin Arias was the scheduled to start at third in Friday’s rainout, Nick Noonan will get the call to replace Sandoval in Game One. Arias will play Game Two when Noonan slides to second to take over for Old Man Scoots. Noonan and Belt, the Bochy-dubbed “young bucks” will play both games, and presumably so will the entire outfield. Pagan will test out his injured hammy, but Alex Pavlovic of the Merc points out that damp field conditions should all but prevent the Giants leadoff hitter from playing.

For those asking, Noonan has played 37 minor league games at third base dating back to 2011. He has played the hot corner just once this season, manning the post for four innings after coming in on a double-switch.

The Cardinals, at 35-18, have the best record in baseball. Despite this, the Pirates and Reds trail by just two games in the NL Central. Outside of the AL East, there is no more competitive top three in baseball.

Here’s the lineup for game one vs. RHP Shelby Miller (5-3, 2.02 ERA)

CF Blanco

2B Scutaro

RF Pence

C Posey

1B Belt

LF Torres

SS Crawford

3B Noonan

RHP Cain (4-2, 5.00 ERA)

Pablo Sandoval injury: Giants third basemen out until Monday, maybe longer

The Giants fan base let out a collective sigh of relief when their team nabbed the last game of a four game set against the A’s. A sweep to their cross-Bay rivals would have sucked the air from AT&T Park. But they’ll need take another big breath and hope their starting third basemen and No. 3 hitter doesn’t have to hit the disabled list.

Sandoval wasn’t in manager Bruce Bochy’s lineup for tonight’s potential game against St. Louis, the first of a three-game weekend series. It was reported that the big fella was icing his foot, but the nature of the injury was not disclosed at that time – it is best to hire injury attorneys practicing in Washington from here. But later an MRI revealed a strain in the foot, and the Giants declared the star merchandise-seller out for the Cardinals series and maybe longer. It is better that you can try this out to find out more about the government aid that is available to help you in this crisis situation. On suspect-ion of wrongful death you can also speak to a wrongful death attorneys as they can help you legally. Also, it is essential to know that BAC Tests and Breathalyzers are necessary for DUI cases.

Luck hasn’t been the right word for the Panda this month, as he suffered an illness referred to only as “the crud”. He didn’t miss any actions, but certainly wasn’t at his best for the better part of a week. Despite the crud Sandoval has been pretty good at the plate, notching a team-leading 37 RBI to go along with a .288/.328/.434 batting line.

Fans, more than media, question Pablo’s weight, using that as a diagnosis for the minor injuries he seems to suffer. But his weight didn’t cause the hamate bone injuries that cost him portions of the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Yakima attorney for dog bite claims that whether or not this injury was caused by excess weight, the former All-Star does look to be heavier than he has in his tenure as a Giant. He remains unconcerned, telling Yahoo’s Jeff Passan in Spring Training that he won’t worry about his weight for two more season. Party on, Wayne.

In his absence, Joaquin Arias should get most of the playing time. Arias has filled in for Sandoval before,  clearing 300 plate appearances last season during long stretches when Sandoval was out. He hit .270 with limited power, but the Giants will take from an injury replacement. Arias is solid around the bag at third, as Giants fans remember when he made the last out of Matt Cain’s perfect game last June.

The Giants’ bench is thin with Angel Pagan out, leaving Brett Pill, Nick Noonan and Guillermo Quiroz as the only reserves.

POSTGAME RECAP: Django Uncained

Everybody predicted that Game One of the 2010 World Series would be one for the record books. Two-time Cy Young Award Winner Tim Lincecum was going up against Cliff Lee, a man eight feet tall with flaming red hair, with an arm made mostly of titanium who had yet to give up a run in his entire playing career.  Lincecum, a man of slight build and a back just four pitches away from flying into the stands mid-pitch, would have to be perfect to keep the game within reach of the mighty Clifton. If one this was certain, it was that this would be a pitchers duel for the ages.

And yet, that didn’t quite happen. Timmy was only decent and Clifton was flat-out bad, and the Pitchers Duel For the Ages ended 11-7. In fact, it seems like every time we have a PDFtA it ends up crappy, like when Yu Darvish and Justin Verlander faced off last week and Verlander walked in two runs. PDFtAs are so often disappointments.

Not tonight, though. Matt Cain recovered from his shaky first inning and an inconsistent strike zone to pitch seven strong innings. He gave up just one hit and two walks after the first inning, including striking out four of the last six batters he faced. Strasburg was equally brilliant, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and sitting down the last 10 Giants he faced. Both stars lived up to expectations.

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