San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey had a special night on Friday in the team's win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Giants won the game 5-1 in 10 innings after Bailey hit a walk-off grand slam. That moonshot was the first time in decades that a Giants catcher accomplished a feat like that.
“The last time, and only other time a Giants' catcher hit a walk-off grand slam was 56 years ago: Jack Hiatt on April 25, 1969, in the bottom of the 13th inning in a 12-8 victory over the Houston Astros,” USA Today's Bob Nightengale wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Giants starting pitcher Justin Verlander was left in awe after Bailey's heroics.
“That was a special game,” Giants pitcher Justin Verlander said, per MLB.com. “That was one of the more fun games in a regular season I’ve been a part of. Obviously, we know where we’re at, playing the Dodgers at home. It was one of those games that had a bit of a playoff atmosphere to it from the beginning and one of those games that you just never know who’s going to step up and make a great play and take a great at-bat.”
The Giants have struggled in recent months, after looking at one point like a contender for the National League West crown. With the win, San Francisco improved to 75-72 on the season.
Giants are trying to end the season on a high note
San Francisco has been above .500 for a good portion of the season, but things went off the track in recent weeks. After the team traded for Rafael Devers, the club started to lose games and their spot in the division standings.
Things are better. The Giants have won seven of their last 10 games, and again have a winning record. San Francisco is now seven games behind in the division.
Bailey's home run in the Dodgers game was just his sixth all season. The Giants catcher is hitting .220 this season with 50 RBIs. He has collected hits in his last four game appearances, helping to lift the Giants offense.
The Giants catcher has done some pretty wild things this season at the plate. He hit a walk-off inside-the-park home run back in July. He is now the first player in MLB history to record a walk-off inside-the-park home run and a walk-off grand slam in a season, per MLB.com.
“Both are definitely pretty cool,” Bailey said. “I’m definitely not as tired this one as the inside-the-parker.”
San Francisco again plays the Dodgers on Saturday. Los Angeles leads the NL West by 2½ games heading into Saturday.
