 The next season , Whiteside started the year at Fresno again , batting .241 with 28 hits , six home runs , and 24 RBI in 34 games ( 116 at bats ) . However , after an elbow injury prevented Pablo Sandoval from catching , the Giants called up Whiteside to be the backup catcher for Bengie Molina on May 24 , 2009 . The same day , he played his first major league game in four years ( and his first for a National League team ) . He finished the game with a hit and an RBI in three at @-@ bats . Matt Cain said of Whiteside , " He 's been great . He 's a guy who definitely takes advantage of his days in between , when he 's not catching , and asking what guys threw in situations and what the pitches were , so he isn 't thrown into the fire the days he 's starting . Even if he doesn 't see a team , he 's still figuring out how guys got them out . He 's definitely always learning . " On July 10 , 2009 , Molina was scheduled to catch , but was unable to because he went to see his wife , who was having a baby . Whiteside caught in his place , and Jonathan Sánchez , starting in place of the injured Randy Johnson , threw a no @-@ hitter against the San Diego Padres . When asked if he thought it was more unlikely for Sánchez to throw a no @-@ hitter or for him to catch it , he said , " Probably me catching one . " He hit a grand slam , his first Major League home run , against Brian Moehler of the Houston Astros in a 10 – 6 Giants ' victory on August 5 , 2009 . He joined Bobby Bonds , Dave Kingman , and Brian Dallimore as the only Giants to hit a grand slam for their first home run . He finished the year with 29 hits in 49 games ( 126 at @-@ bats ) , two home runs , and 13 RBI . Defensively , he posted a .993 fielding percentage while catching 39 % of attempted base stealers . 
