The Giants finally got what has been so hard to find this season: a close game that went their way. On Monday night, they beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 in 11 innings, with Shay Whitcomb delivering the walk-off single to finish it off.
But the swing that kept San Francisco alive came earlier, and it belonged to Bryce Eldridge. In the 10th inning, after the Cardinals intentionally walked Rafael Devers, Eldridge stepped in and drove a ball up the middle to bring home the automatic runner from second and tie the game.
That sequence had a familiar feel for the Giants. Just last week, Eldridge punished the Pirates after they chose to intentionally walk Devers, lining a double down the line in the 10th to give San Francisco the lead. After that game, he made it clear the pairing was a problem for opposing pitchers, saying that they had to deal with two of them, meaning he and Devers.
Monday night brought the same lesson. The Cardinals went after Devers with the intentional walk, and the broadcast noted that Devers looked right at Eldridge and gave him a motivational nod as if to say, ‘You got this.’
Eldridge answered.
He’s not only helping at the plate, either. He made a diving catch on a hard line drive at first base to end an inning, then in the 11th he handled a bad throw from shortstop Christian Koss to keep the inning from slipping away and prevent the automatic runner from scoring.
For a season that has been ugly, Eldridge is giving the Giants something real to build on. He’s starting to look comfortable on both sides of the ball, and that matters even more because he’s doing it as a rookie at just 21 years old.
Teams may eventually decide they don’t want to test Devers or Eldridge at all. For now, though, Eldridge seems just fine with the extra attention. Twice recently, it’s turned into a chance for him to make opponents pay.
In Other News...
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Diego Velasquez has also answered an important test after moving up to Triple-A Sacramento. He has handled the jump well, batting .300 with a .400 on-base percentage in 107 plate appearances, and his steady production only strengthens his case as one of the more intriguing names in the organization. For a team always looking to line up the next wave, both players are surging at the right moment. [Read more 🡒]
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The uncomfortable part is how familiar this all looks in San Francisco. The Giants have been down this road before with Evan Longoria, whose own later years in orange and black were shaped by injuries and diminishing production as the wear of age caught up with him. Chapman is not Longoria, and the comparison is not perfect, but the pattern is hard to miss for a club that once hoped it was buying reliability. Now the question hanging over the Giants is whether this is a temporary setback or the start of another expensive decline they have to manage. [Read more 🡒]