Struggles continue for Giants’ Pat Burrell
Reporting from Arlington, Texas — The San Francisco Giants already need an extra hitter here, with the designated hitter in effect. They do not need one of their best hitters to disappear.
That is what Pat Burrell has done in the World Series. Burrell struck out in all four at-bats Saturday.
In nine at-bats in the Series, he has no hits and eight strikeouts. He is batting .158 in postseason play, with 19 strikeouts in 38 at-bats.
“Not exactly how you draw it up,†Burrell said. “I picked a bad time to struggle. There’s no way around it. I’m getting pitches to hit and not doing anything with them, and I’m chasing some balls off the plate.â€
Manager Bruce Bochy would not say whether Burrell would remain in the lineup against the Texas Rangers.
Pain in the neck
Jose Guillen started 14 of the Giants’ last 15 regular-season games. Cody Ross started one of the last six.
Ross has emerged as an October star, with five of the Giants’ 10 postseason home runs.
Yet, Bochy insisted Ross would have started in right field ahead of Guillen, and not because of any federal investigation.
“I told Jose this: I thought it was pretty evident he wasn’t 100%,†Bochy told Giants beat writers. “He did all he could with treatment on his neck.
“So Cody Ross would have been in right field even if Jose was on the club. Jose would have been in more of a pinch-hitter role.â€
The Giants dropped Guillen from their roster after they learned that federal agents were investigating a shipment of human growth hormone allegedly sent to his wife.
Panda watch
Pablo Sandoval, the Giants’ DH in Game 3, had the largest difference between home and road batting average of any player in the major leagues this season.
Sandoval batted .330 in San Francisco, .208 on the road.
He was not one of the four players the Giants used as a DH during interleague play this season. The Giants used Burrell, infielders Matt Downs and Juan Uribe, and catcher Bengie Molina, now with the Rangers.
Saving grace
The Dodgers’ Bob Welch was 21 when he recorded his memorable strikeout of Reggie Jackson in the 1978 World Series.
That made Welch the youngest player to save a World Series game. The second-youngest: Neftali Feliz, 22, for the Rangers on Saturday.
Such a deal
The Chick-fil-A outlet near Rangers Ballpark offered this deal: Spend $35 on food, and parking for the Series is free.
The chicken sandwiches inside cost $2.75. So, to get free parking, you would have to buy 13 chicken sandwiches.
You would have 75 cents left over for antacids.
