Houston @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( May 15, 2010 ) Houston 1, San Francisco 2
The San Francisco Giants had been looking for a way to get Pablo Sandoval to take a day off.
It took getting hit by a pitch by Houston Astros reliever Jeff Fulchino to get it done.
Sandoval finally sat out a game for the first time this season Saturday when the Giants defeated the Astros for the second consecutive day. He was hit on the left foot by Fulchino in the eighth inning of Friday’s game and wasn’t in Saturday’s lineup.
Manager Bruce Bochy had wanted to rest Sandoval earlier in the week as his May slump worsened. That tender foot – X-rays were negative – finally did the trick.
Sandoval expects to be back at third base today when the Giants and Astros finish their three-game series in San Francisco.
Whether his bat will be back in sharper shape is still to be determined. The player known as “The Panda” has hit softer than a lamb this month and his average has fallen from .368 to .281.
Even with two hits before leaving Friday’s game, Sandoval is hitting just .135 (7-of-52) in May.
San Francisco needs to get Sandoval going because the Giants are offensively challenged to begin with. The club has just 23 homers in 35 games and has relied on pitching for its 20-15 start.
Sandoval has just three homers and 12 RBIs this season. A year ago, he had 25 homers and 90 RBIs and finished second in the National League in hitting with a .330 average.
Sandoval has traditionally torched the Astros with 18 hits in 39 career at-bats (.462) against Houston pitching. He is 2-for-3 lifetime against Brett Myers, Houston’s starter today.
Myers (2-2) has a 3.52 ERA in seven starts after joining the Astros as a free agent in the offseason. Myers has allowed two earned runs or fewer four times and beat St. Louis in his most recent start.
He allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings against the Cardinals.
Myers wasn’t involved in the decision when he started against the Giants on April 7. He gave up four runs and 12 hits in six innings in a game San Francisco won 10-4.
Houston, which has the worst record in the NL at 13-23, is 0-5 against San Francisco this season.
Astros leadoff hitter Michael Bourn did his best to reverse that trend during Saturday’s game, won 2-1 by the Giants. Bourn stole three bases and now leads the NL with 14 steals.
Houston left fielder Carlos Lee was ejected from Saturday’s game after being called out on strikes in the sixth inning. Lee has endured a frustrating season thus far – he’s batting .189 with just two homers and 11 RBIs.
Barry Zito will be on the mound for San Francisco and he is coming off his first shaky outing of the season. Zito (5-1, 1.90 ERA) walked seven and gave up three runs and six hits in five innings of a 3-2 loss to San Diego.