From Baggs’ gamer:

San Francisco Giants’ Pablo Sandoval connects for a solo home run.

Sandoval, their
23-year-old ball of energy whose final swing allowed him to finish
second in the National League with a .330 average while hitting 25 home
runs and driving in 90 runs.

He flipped over the
dugout rail while making a spectacular catch of a foul pop in the
seventh inning, then he skipped around the bases with both arms raised
after crushing a solo home run in the 10th.

Sandoval’s 444-foot monster shot made the difference in a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

“I can’t believe it, you know?” said
Sandoval, who only broke his silver rosary on his head-over-heels
catch. “Every time I went to my house from the ballpark I say, ‘Thank
God for giving me the chance to play baseball every day.’ I’m excited
to be in the big leagues and to do well.”

Not including Barry Bonds, Sandoval became just the second Giant in seven seasons to hit 25 homers. Ray Durham hit 26 in 2006. Sandoval also led the team with 52 walks.

“It was a good thump, I
know that,” Bochy said of Sandoval’s dugout catch. “Probably four or
five on the Richter (scale). But he’s so tough. He got back up and went
back out there.”

After the game, former Giant Kevin Mitchell
stopped by the clubhouse and told Sandoval to keep working hard.
Sandoval pledged to arrive in spring training in the best shape of his
life.

“You better get ready for next year!” he yelled.

Mon Sep 21, 11:23 PM ET

San
Francisco Giants’ Pablo Sandoval, left, scores on a single by Bengie
Molina as Arizona Diamondbacks catcher John Hester catches the ball
during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, in
Phoenix.

(AP Photo/Matt York)

Pablo’s looking forward to a three-week course in “fitness and nutritional training.

“I do want to get better,” Sandoval said. “I want to get in good shape
and get ready for next season. I don’t want to get hurt. I don’t want
to play 120 games. I want to play 162 games.”

But first, some R&R. At season’s end, he’ll go to “Venezuela for some family time, then go to Florida to take his little girl to Disney World.”

Our Kung Fu Panda is in a slump, but it ain’t over ’til it’s over.

More Pandas sighted:

4 Pandas

F.decorate(_ge(‘photo_notes’), F._photo_notes).notes_go_go_go(3874119709, ‘http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2656/3874119709_064c40efe2_t.jpg’, ‘3.1444’);

Here’s an injury up date from Chris Haft / MLB.com

08/26/09 1:09 AM ET

“I want to be in there but it’s their decision,” Sandoval said. …”I only want to miss two games, not the rest of the season.”

Sandoval, who fouled a ball off his calf last week in Cincinnati,
aggravated the injury as he ran out a fly ball Monday at Colorado. But
he didn’t sound overly concerned as he spoke before Tuesday’s series
opener. Asked if he could pinch-hit, Sandoval grinned and replied, “Oh,
sure.” He did so in the seventh inning, earning an intentional walk and
being lifted for a pinch-runner.

From a couple of days ago:

Sun Aug 23, 6:21 PM ET

San
Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, front, falls after
running into the bar over the photographers’ pit while pursuing a foul
ball against the Colorado Rockies in the eighth inning of the Rockies’
4-2 victory in a baseball game in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009.
Giants infielder Juan Uribe, back, reaches up to keep Sandoval from
falling down into the pit. Sandoval did not catch the ball.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

We’re hoping for good news about Pablo’s calf.

Here’s what Baggs said in the Merc:

Pablo Sandoval’s 11-game trip ended a bit early. He was replaced in
the middle of the third inning Monday night because of a tight right
calf.

Sandoval hit .350 on the trip, but his defense slipped
noticeably. He had made just seven errors as a third baseman before
committing four in a seven-game span, including a costly throw to
second base in New York. Freddy Sanchez aggravated his left shoulder as
he lunged to catch it.

Sandoval’s defensive play has been one of
the Giants’ most pleasant surprises, but bench coach Ron Wotus expected
a stretch like this.

“He’s played extremely well there and it can
be difficult to keep that up,” Wotus said. “The dog days of August
leave you a little fatigued. That’s when your concentration and focus
can waver.”

Sandoval’s season is longer than most. He played
almost every day in spring training while getting a crash course at
third base. He played in the Venezuelan winter league, too.

Sandoval’s
conditioning is a factor, especially in humid cities like New York and
Cincinnati. It’s a major reason the Giants won’t consider putting him
behind the plate next season to serve as a stopgap until top prospect
Buster Posey is ready.

Wotus has dialed back Sandoval’s ground
balls to preserve him. But the Giants want Sandoval to drop 20 pounds
and so he does a half-hour of cardio exercise after most games. At least the Giants are heading back to the cool, maritime breezes at AT&T Park.

Baggs told us last night:

Pablo Sandoval doesn’t know if he can play tomorrow. He was taken out
in the third inning with a strained right calf. He said he hurt it when
a pitch hit him in Cincinnati, but he wasn’t hit by a pitch in that
series. I can’t remember, but maybe he fouled a ball of his leg.
Anyway, he’ll be reevaluated and there should be a clearer picture
tomorrow.

@keithlaw Is it bad that when I read “Pablo Sandoval injures calf” I pictured him actually eating a small cow?

Here’s a video interview with the Giants’ Panda after losing 14-11 in Colorado. Understandably low-key.

http://player.theplatform.com/ps/player/pds/BkJdv72S2-&pid=Q6bA2eLgmAa96R3Dem0aU4d7HsdIpDhZ

Quite a game yesterday, featuring a nifty duck-and-split from Kung Fu Panda, as the G-men took the series finale from LA. Nice article from MLB’s Andrew Pentis:

Sandoval … was brushed back by a first-pitch fastball
from McDonald that appeared to graze Sandoval’s left elbow, prompting
the Giants third baseman to stare out at the mound and raise his arms.
Both teams’ benches cleared..

McDonald said, “He swung at the pitch. How bad could it have been?”

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp added, “If he doesn’t want to be pitched inside, tell him not to hit .330.”

Sandoval said the ball definitely hit just below his elbow, and he
tried to show the mark its impact left to the umpires, though they had
already ruled it had nicked the knob of his bat. The plate appearance
ended in a walk.

“I was surprised,” Sandoval said of the umpires’ decision. “[But] that’s what they saw.”

… “I didn’t want to [behave like] that,” Sandoval said, adding he let
himself get caught up in the “temper” of the game. “[I realized I] had
to calm down.”

… Sandoval’s interesting sequence didn’t end there: Two batters later,
Nate Schierholtz grounded into a potential inning-ending double play,
but Sandoval stopped in between first and second base, evaded the tag
of Juan Castro while doing the splits and found second base safely.

Castro appeared to swipe at Sandoval with his glove, while the ball was in his right hand.

All that, and Sandoval only traveled 180 feet.

“I’ve never been in a game like that,” Sandoval said, smiling. “It was my first time.”

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From Andrew Baggarly

Even Pablo Sandoval, whose .371
average at AT&T Park
is the highest among all NL players in home games, showed rare frustration.
Sandoval, who is 3-for-16 over his past four games, spiked his bat when he
popped up in the fourth inning.

“I got mad because I missed a
pitch,” said Sandoval, who turned 23 on Tuesday. “We’re trying, but
we have to be more patient at the plate. We have to hustle for everything. We
can’t do anything wrong, because when you play these teams, you have to be
perfect.”