Offensive woes force Giants' hand, Sandoval's return

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BOX SCOREOf the Giants Friday night, there is little enough to be said. Matt Harrison sat on their chests for nine innings -- and yes, that included Angel Pagan's. Which is why Pablo Sandoval is now thin enough and lithe enough to return to active duty at third base.

NEWS: Sandoval to play third base for Giants Saturday

Brett Pill went 0-for-3 Friday night as part of the Giants' 5-0 loss, dropping his batting average to .215 and opening the way for Sandoval's return. Thus, the Giants are back to their unsettled ways at first, and a place needs to be found for Joaquin Arias, but Sandoval has completed his duties in the minors, and after a night like Friday, he would probably have been promoted if he hadn't.

Harrison allowed only five hits, and one runner to reach second base, in his complete game. The kicker on that is that the only person to do so was Barry Zito, who overran second in the third inning and was tagged out by Ranger Ian Kinsler. In short, the Giants had a runner in scoring position for under two seconds, which really is the same as having never reached second at all.

But the Sandoval move is made through clenched teeth, because the Giants actually aren't sure if he's ready to be the third baseman at all. They just know that with Melky Cabrera nursing a wonky hamstring, their offense is essentially non-functional, and even Sandoval at 85 percent of Sandoval is better than what they're showing now.

What they showed Friday was one out that reached the outfield, 19 groundouts, four strikeouts, two infield popups, a line drive to second and Zito. Angel Pagan took his first oh-fer in 16 games, and in 29 home games. This was the Giants' 30th. Do the math.

In short, to say they had no chance is unfair, but to say they had one is probably gilding the lily.

The only good news is that while they were being no-threat-ed by Harrison, the Dodgers were being no-hit in Seattle by half the Mariner pitching staff. Yes, half. Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League and Tom Wilhelmsen combined to hold the Los Angelii to four base runners, four runners in scoring position, but no actual hits. I mean, the Giants got hits. Then again, none of them put multiple runners in play, so who is to say what is more feeble?

We would at this point complain that nobody attending the game in Giantstown knew that their hated rivals were being pillow-smothered, because for reasons of marketing rigidity news from other games in the major leagues is strictly verboten. I mean, when your team is getting face-washed at home, any good news is welcome, and the Dodgers being no-hit would qualify as excellent news.

But no, it's more important that KissCam and the dancing octogenarian usher entertain the customers because none of them are baseball fans and if they were, they'd all rather remain ignorant of news elsewhere in the sport. Especially news that makes their own team's enfeebled swings and demolished bats seem like an explosion.

But maybe the Sandoval promotion is supposed to cover that. Maybe the good news from the Panda Hat aisle is supposed to solve that problem.

Be that as it may, the Giants are hoping that Sandoval's return will make Cabrera's iffy status less painful. They are not a team that can afford to miss too many offensive components. They could fake it without Sandoval because they had Cabrera and Pagan. Then Cabrera went down and Sandoval is now reappearing after two of the timeliest minor league home runs he has ever hit. And who knows how many hours it will take Pagan to start hitting again?

Sandoval has much to prove, of course. Manager Bruce Bochy ruled him out as an option at first, leaving Brandon Belt and Aubrey Huff to sort that position out as best they can. And he has to show that the weight gain that troubled the Giants so is under control at least to a sufficient extent to make him a credible third baseman. And he has to begin his new hamate-bone-free career and look just he did when he had two of them.

And he has to show the Giants that he is reliable and dependable and worthy of their undying trust. He needs to hit the ground at a dead sprint, in other words, and for one reason more than any other:

Neither he nor they can rely on the Dodgers being no-hit that often.

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