Chris Haft
MLB.com
The Giants sustained a typically competitive, resilient effort Friday night. But it was a pair of unusual elements that prompted Friday night's 6-4 loss to the New York Mets.
San Francisco entered the game having allowed a National League-low 16 home runs. Yet they coughed up a season-high four, including Rod Barajas' two-run homer in the ninth inning off Sergio Romo that snapped a 4-4 tie and extended New York's home winning streak to eight games.
Pablo Sandoval's persistent struggles at the plate were equally jarring. The Kung Fu Panda needs a veterinarian or a zoologist to fix his swing, particularly after an 0-for-5 evening that extended his slump to 2-for-29.
Sandoval's futility crested in the ninth when he fouled out to end the inning with runners at the corners after pinch-hitter John Bowker's stirring homer off Francisco Rodriguez evened the score.
The Mets gave the Giants little time to ponder Sandoval's next at-bat, which will have to wait until Saturday against New York ace Johan Santana. Ike Davis, the first baseman who tumbled into the Mets dugout to catch Sandoval's ninth-inning popup, drew a one-out walk from Romo. Up came Barajas, who lifted a 1-0 slider into the left-field seats for his second homer of the game.
Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez hadn't surrendered a home run in 30 innings this season until Davis, who also homered twice, and Barajas went deep back-to-back in the second inning. Sanchez ultimately allowed three homers, but recovered to last seven innings.
Unfortunately for the Giants, Romo's lapse wasn't so atypical. He has gone unscored upon in 11 of 14 outings this season. In the three exceptions, he has allowed late-inning home runs that either put opponents ahead or gave them the lead for good.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy maintained faith in Romo (0-3).
"He's our guy setting up," Bochy said. "He just made a mistake."
Said Romo of his fluctuating fortunes, "Ups and downs happen. I was ready to go. I just went out there and hung a breaking ball. Plain and simple."
Barajas definitely found Romo's approach simple.
"The scouting report that I got before I went up there was that he loves his slider," Barajas said. "He's got a good slider, and he's going to throw it. I was looking for that slider. The first one, he threw it a little bit inside, and then the next one, he left it over the middle of the plate."
Lately, even pitches over the middle of the plate might bamboozle Sandoval. His batting average sank to .296, marking the first time since April 10 that it has dipped below .300.
"I'm fine," Sandoval said pleasantly. "My mind's fine. It's part of the game. You have to concentrate a little more. You deal with that. You have to be 100 percent positive that you're going to get out of this."
Sandoval has been missing fastballs, lunging at breaking balls and resembling an entirely ordinary hitter, which he isn't.
"We're not used to it from Pablo," Bochy said. "He's really pressing."
Predictably, Sandoval has tried everything in attempts to end his slump. Sometimes he wears his goggles; sometimes he doesn't. Friday he refrained from watching video of himself and concentrated solely on taking extra batting practice. He said that he'll scrutinize his hitting video Saturday, however.
"I think when you go on a skid, you try different things," Bochy said.
Crucial parts of this game certainly were different for the Giants.
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