Some people thought a return to the San Francisco Giants would help Pablo Sandoval change his luck after a disastrous run with the Boston Red Sox.
Those people, it appears, were dead wrong.
The Red Sox cut ties with Sandoval on July 19, eating a ton of money in the process after the third baseman failed to live up to the expectations that came with the five-year, $95 million contract he signed with Boston in 2014. Just a few days after the Red Sox sent Sandoval packing, the Giants signed him, hoping he’d be able to return to something even slightly resembling the player he was with San Francisco for the first eight years of his career.
Improbably, however, Sandoval actually has been worse with the Giants than he was with the Red Sox in 2017. That’s in large part due to a historically bad run, as the 31-year-old now has gone 32 straight at-bats without a hit.
Now Pablo Sandoval grounds out to make it an 0-for-32. Longest hitless streak by a Giant since Johnnie LeMaster (37) in 1984. #KungBooPanda
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) September 4, 2017
Sandoval perhaps has been a little unlucky over his nine-game hitless streak (33 at-bats), as he only has five strikeouts in that span.
While he’s putting the ball in play at a decent rate, though, he’s not exactly making solid contact: Sandoval didn’t have a hit probability percentage higher than 35 percent in any of his four at-bats Monday, according to Baseball Savant. You’re not going to get very lucky if you’re not hitting the ball hard, which he hasn’t done much of lately.
Through 27 games with the Giants, Sandoval now is hitting .196 with 16 strikeouts in 27 games with just five extra-base hits. With the Red Sox this season, the veteran hit .212 with six extra-base hits, four of which were home runs.
His fielding percentage in San Francisco is better than it was in Boston, however — so he has that going for him.
Thumbnail photo via Jake Roth/USA TODAY Sports Images
