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Sandoval's 0-for-38 slide is worst in Giants history

Jasen Vinlove / USA TODAY Sports

The Pablo Sandoval reunion tour is not going as planned.

After being held out of the starting lineup Wednesday night due to a prolonged slump, the San Francisco Giants third baseman was called upon as a pinch-hitter - and he promptly pushed this latest slide into record territory.

In his only at-bat of Wednesday's game against the Colorado Rockies, Sandoval was struck out on four pitches by Rockies right-hander Jeff Hoffman. That strikeout pushed Sandoval into an 0-for-38 drought, giving him ownership of a dubious record for the longest hitless streak in Giants history since they moved to San Francisco in 1958, according to Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News.

Johnnie LeMaster previously set the franchise's San Francisco-era record in 1984.

Sandoval is quickly moving closer to baseball infamy as his disastrous season progresses. Thanks to Wednesday's strikeout, he's now just eight at-bats shy of tying Eugenio Velez's major-league hitless record for a non-pitcher at 0-for-46. Velez set the mark over a two-season run with the Giants and Dodgers from 2010-11.

Once a Giants fan favorite as the star third baseman on their three World Series championship teams this decade, Sandoval has struggled to reach even the most minimal of expectations since rejoining the club last month after being released by Boston. The 31-year-old is actually giving the Giants less production than what he gave the Red Sox before his release over a nearly identical number of plate appearances.

Team PA BA OPS 2B HR RBI R K/BB WAR
Red Sox 108 .212 .622 2 4 12 10 24/8 -0.4
Giants 110 .186 .500 4 1 4 11 18/7 -0.6

Despite his historic slump, manager Bruce Bochy seems to still have faith, as he told Baggarly on Wednesday afternoon that Sandoval would be back in the lineup when the Giants visit the Chicago White Sox on Friday.

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