SAN FRANCISCO – Give the Giants and Pablo Sandoval credit.

Their reunion was not the path of least resistance for either party. It required pride to be swallowed on both sides. It required fence mending, if not rebuilding the entire bridge.

That bridge was pretty well torched when Sandoval signed with the Boston Red Sox after the 2014 season. How torched? Well, consider this: Sandoval’s contract with the Red Sox included a limited no-trade provision, with the ability to designate three teams to which he could not be dealt without his consent.

The Giants were one of those teams. Really.

Sandoval had a change of heart, which is why he immediately signed a minor league contract with the Giants after the Red Sox released him. And as every day passes, the sight of the Panda back in a Giants uniform seems less and less strange. He doubled ahead of Ryder Jones’ first big league home run Monday night, and Jones said he enjoyed the sight of the smiling Panda ready to greet him at the plate.

Jones even credited Sandoval with giving him some hitting advice that helped, telling the rookie to think up the middle and trust the same approach that made him successful at Triple-A Sacramento.

When Jones was asked what he would like to accomplish over the final two months of the season, he steered the talk away from establishing himself as a big leaguer. He said he and Sandoval and Jarrett Parker have talked about wanting to inject energy and enthusiasm into a team that has been beaten numb by so many losses this season.

Sandoval has something to do with that.

Funny thing, though: the Giants inherited the terms of Sandoval’s contract, even though the Red Sox are responsible for paying all but the major league minimum of the $49 million he’s owed through 2019.

How many players are playing for a team that they cannot be traded to?

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The other teams on Sandoval’s list, by the way, are the Yankees and Mets.

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For now, the Giants plan to start Chris Stratton, Jeff Samardzija and left-hander Matt Moore in the three-game series at Washington that begins on Friday.

But Giants manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged that Moore (3-12, 5.88 ERA), who has the most losses and highest ERA among NL starters, is a candidate to be skipped at some point so he can work on things on the side.

“You have to think about it. You’d be crazy not to,” Bochy said. “It doesn’t mean we’ll do it. I’ll talk to Matt today.”

The Giants still believe it’s within Moore to be an effective starter, but it’s clear that Bochy’s patience is reaching its limits. A night earlier, left-handed hitters collected six of the eight hits off Moore in a loss to the Cubs. Afterward, Bochy expressed annoyance at lefties’ .396 average against him.

“He’s got way too good stuff to get hit like that,” Bochy said.

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Bochy said “it’s a legit thought” that outfielder Carlos Moncrief could pitch an inning in a blowout. Moncrief hit 97 mph in an appearance for Sacramento earlier in the season, and showed off his arm strength with a pair of throws in Monday’s loss. He was drafted by Cleveland as a pitcher.

The Giants have gone longer than any team in the major leagues without a pitching appearance by a position player. Greg Litton was the last to do it in 1992.

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Jake Arrieta hasn’t sent a bottle of champagne to Jones yet. You don’t just mention something like that and fail to follow through, do you?

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Some health updates:

Brandon Belt (concussion) isn’t expected to travel with the Giants at the conclusion of this homestand on Wednesday, Bochy said. … Johnny Cueto (forearm strain) will start playing catch over the weekend. … Mark Melancon (different kind of forearm strain) is pitching an inning for Single-A San Jose at Stockton.

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The Cubs will get two more cracks against lefties in this series, beginning with Ty Blach Tuesday and continuing with Madison Bumgarner on Wednesday.

The Cubs are 19-7 against lefty starters, the best winning percentage in the majors.

Jones and Sandoval aren’t starting against a left-hander. Neither is Joe Panik or Denard Span. Lineups: