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Kung Fu fighting: Sandoval, Giants open set with Tigers

Jul 1, 2011 - 3:00 PM (Sports Network) - After missing 40 games following surgery to repair his fractured right hamate bone, San Francisco Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval has been living up to his nickname "Kung Fu Panda."

Sandoval will try to kick the defending World Series champions into gear when they begin a three-game series tonight against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park and extend his hitting streak to 12 games in the process. Sandoval is currently riding an 11-game stride and has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 contests since being activated off of the DL with the hand issue on June 14.

"I think he's getting stronger as time goes on," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said on the team's website. "And I expect him to get even more aggressive."

The stocky Sandoval is batting .304 (14-for-46) during his hitting streak and went 2-for-6 with a home run in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs in 13 innings at Wrigley Field. He was the only player in the lineup with two or more hits, while Miguel Tejada drove in the other run for San Francisco, which split the four-game series with the Cubs and has dropped two in a row since a season-high seven-game winning streak.

Giants reliever Ramon Ramirez was saddled with the loss after he allowed the game-tying single to Darwin Barney with two outs in the 13th. Ramirez intentionally walked Starlin Castro and pinch-hitter Geovany Soto made him pay with a three-run homer to win it.

San Francisco still leads the National League West by two games ahead of Arizona and is 2-2 on a seven-game road trip. Madison Bumgarner draws the pitching assignment Friday and is 3-3 in his last six decisions. He is coming off seven shutout innings and a career-high 11 strikeouts in Sunday's 3-1 win over Cleveland. The lefty rebounded nicely from a dreadful performance in which he gave up eight runs and nine hits in just one-third of an inning versus Minnesota on June 21.

"I knew this kid would bounce back. There was no doubt in my mind," Bochy said.

Bumgarner is 4-9 with a 3.84 ERA in 16 starts and 3-4 in eight road outings. He will face the Tigers for the first time in his career. In three career interleague starts, Bumgarner has gone 1-2 with an 8.16 ERA. Friday's game will be his first career start in an American League ballpark.

Detroit was able to hold the hard-charging New York Mets in check by salvaging the finale of a three-game series with Thursday's 5-2 win. The Mets had scored 52 runs in their previous four games, posting 30 in the first two matchups with the Tigers, before running into ace Justin Verlander.

Verlander became the second pitcher to 11 wins (New York's CC Sabathia) and allowed one run on seven hits and two walks in seven innings. He also struck out six.

"I made some big pitches when I needed to and our guys picked me up," Verlander said. "It is a lot easier to pitch without your best stuff when you have a three- or four-run lead than it is in a tight ballgame."

Andy Dirks homered and Ramon Santiago ended 2-for-4 with an RBI for the AL Central-leading Tigers, who are just a half-game in front of Cleveland in the division standings and have won five of eight games. Austin Jackson and Alex Avila also knocked in runs.

The Tigers are 4-3 on a 10-game homestand and will send Brad Penny to the mound Friday night against his former team. Penny went 4-1 in six starts for the Giants during the 2009 campaign and is just 1-3 with a 5.45 earned run average in his last seven starts since a personal three-game winning streak. He did not record a decision in Sunday's 8-3 win over Arizona and allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings of work.

Penny is 5-6 with a 4.66 ERA in 16 starts this season and 3-2 in nine outings at home. The right-hander has faced San Francisco 20 times in his career, including 19 starts, and owns a 6-3 mark with a 3.05 ERA over that time.

Detroit won two of three meetings with San Francisco the last time these two clubs met from June 16-18, 2008 at AT&T Park. The Giants have won five of the last nine matchups in this series.