Giants manager Bruce Bochy says Pablo Sandoval might pitch again

Recommended Video:

Nick Hundley was catching his 6,610th big-league inning, Pablo Sandoval was pitching his first, and the Panda actually shook off one of Hundley's signs.

“He should have. Did you see the score?” Hundley said with a huge grin Sunday. “We’d given up 15 runs before that, so obviously the signs weren’t very good.”

Hundley called for a curveball. Sandoval wanted to throw a fastball. Somewhere in the ether, Lou Brown from “Major League” was yelling with a gravelly voice, “Give him the heater, Pablo.”

Manager Bruce Bochy said Sandoval was a little sore after his 11-pitch foray into pitching. Sandoval threw a perfect ninth inning in a 15-6 loss to the Dodgers in the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader.

A day later, the Giants were still laughing about it while expressing shock that Sandoval was so good — not just the results, but his mechanics, using both sides of the plate and a mix of off-speed pitches and a fastball that hit 88 mph.

“He looked like a pitcher,” Bochy said. “That’s what was impressive: his delivery, his tempo.”

San Francisco Giants' Pablo Sandoval, right, high-fives catcher Nick Hundley (5) after pitching against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Saturday, April 28, 2018. The Dodgers won 15-6. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) less San Francisco Giants' Pablo Sandoval, right, high-fives catcher Nick Hundley (5) after pitching against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Saturday, April 28, ... more Photo: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press Photo: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Giants manager Bruce Bochy says Pablo Sandoval might pitch again 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Bochy said he might use Sandoval again on the mound and can envision a position player such as the Panda being a two-way reliever/position player. Or, Sandoval could wind up 60 feet, 6 inches away behind the plate. He is the emergency catcher, too.

Hundley drew a direct line between Sandoval’s inning and the Giants’ 8-3 victory in the night game.

“I honestly think it gave us momentum into the next game,” Hundley said. “It gave us a morale boost.”

The Red Sox, who are responsible for the bulk of Sandoval’s salary, might need a morale boost after learning that they paid him about $93,000 Saturday to save the Giants’ bullpen.

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.