SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle
The clubhouse judge shows no mercy.
The 25,701 fans who attended Tuesday night's game long will remember that the Giants, down to their last strike, stunned the Washington Nationals 9-7 on Pablo Sandoval's three-run homer against Joe Beimel in the ninth inning, ending a game in which the Giants squandered a 5-1 lead yet bounced off the field in celebration.
Whoever is selected kangaroo court judge, though, will remember that two innings earlier, Sandoval tripped trying to stretch a double into a triple and landed flat on his face, his left ankle slightly twisted. For several moments, he did not rise, and the Giants were sure he hurt something in his leg.
Well, starting pitcher Matt Cain was not so sure.
"The Kung Fu Panda does not get hurt," Cain said.
He only hurts pitchers who dare challenge him. In this case, Beimel was forced to.
Beimel, trying to protect a 7-6 lead, retired the first two Giants in the ninth before Emmanuel Burriss got his first hit in nine at-bats as the newly installed leadoff hitter, a solid single to center. After a wild pickoff throw moved Burriss to second, Edgar Renteria walked to bring up Sandoval.
The second-year third baseman then showed some uncharacteristic patience, taking two balls and two strikes. Not wanting to go 3-2 with Bengie Molina on deck, Beimel sent Sandoval a fastball, middle-in. Batting right-handed, Sandoval smashed it into the left-field seats for what he said was his first-ever game-ending homer.
"Man," Burriss said, "when he hit it, I was, 'No way.' I was just praying it would go out, wishing it would go out. When I saw it go out, I was like a little kid. My celebration was bigger than his, I was so excited."
Sandoval celebrated by staying upright as he rounded second base and enjoying the moment. Later, he told reporters two things that do not jibe, first that he shortened up with two strikes, but at the same time, he was not thinking about a single.
"In that moment, I just wanted to get my pitch to drive the ball," he said. "I didn't want to tie it. I wanted to finish the game."
Sandoval finished the Giants' third consecutive win and 15th in their last 21 games. They also beat the Nats for the ninth consecutive time and improved to 6-0 in home series. If they complete the sweep today, they will be five games over .500 for the first time since the end of 2004.
Winning pitcher Brandon Medders marveled at Sandoval, the only Giant besides Molina to homer in May.
"They call Timmy (Lincecum) 'The Freak,' " Medders said, "but Pablo's also a freak, the balls he puts into play. He can take balls most men can't put wood on and hit them out of the ballpark. Now that Pablo is taking those close, borderline pitches, he's dangerous."
So are Ryan Zimmerman and Nick Johnson of the Nationals. Zimmerman singled against Cain in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 30. Johnson had five RBIs, all from the seventh inning on. His three-run homer against Cain in the seventh turned a 5-1 Giants lead into a one-run game.
After Ronnie Belliard tied the game in the eighth with a single off Bobby Howry, Johnson grounded a two-run single off a diving Travis Ishikawa's glove to give Washington a 7-5 lead. Molina, who earlier walked for the first time in 2009, chipped away with his eighth homer in the eighth inning, setting the stage for Sandoval's big moment.
"This guy's got no fear," manager Bruce Bochy said of his third baseman. "He's one guy you want up there with the game on the line."
 Washington (10-21) Lost 3 | San Francisco 9, Washington 7 |  San Francisco (18-14) Won 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Standings thru 5/12/09 | Recap: WSH | SF | Wrap | Gameday |
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