Yesterday
Here are the top 5 July 18 Moments in San Francisco Giants history.
1959 at Pittsburgh, it's game 90 on the season and we're 2 up, our biggest lead of the season, Harvey Haddix throws a complete game 6 hitter for the Bucs, we're down 3-2 with 2 out in the 8th - and Willie Mays hits a 2 run homer - those are the last runs scored, we win it 4-3. That gives us a 3 game lead - which was, to that date, the largest lead in San Francisco history. Homer #232 for Mays.
1967 at Pittsburgh, back half of a doubleheader (lost first game) we're 5 games off the lead, so still in it as of game 91 of the season, we're down 2-1 in the 7th when Willie McCovey hits a 2 run homer off his longtime teammate Billy O'Dell to give us what turned out to to be the final margin of a 3-2 victory. It's homer #215 for McCovey. O'Dell was better both before coming to and after leaving San Francisco, he did five years as a Giant, '60-4, most of which in the rotation, finishing with a Giants ERA+ of 101. We got him for Jackie Brandt, dealt him for Ed Bailey.
1980 at St Louis, it's game 90, we just got swept in Pittsburgh but we're not quite dead yet, 7.5 games out of the lead (we were ten out less than two weeks before) but in the 9th inning, we trailed 7-4 and that's an almost certain loss - but Milt May (three hits on the day) hit a grand slam homer off Kim Seaman to put us up 8-7, and that's the final score. May hit 3 grand slams in his career, this is the only one in his 4 Giants seasons.
Walk off 1985 home vs. Cubs, now, this is a dead season, we're coming out of the break, 22 games under .500 and 16.5 out of first, Mike Krukow throws a complete game shutout against his longtime team, but it's still scoreless in the bottom of the 9th when Jeff Leonard doubles home Chili Davis off of Lee Smith to win the game. There aren't too many people more closely associated with the Giants than longtime broadcaster Krukow, he started with the Cubs, drafted in '73, up in '76, in their rotation from '77-'81 (he was okay, career ERA+ just under 100) They dealt him to the Phillies for Keith Moreland and Dickie Noles before the '82 season (has his career best ERA+ 118) and before the '83 season he came to San Francisco with Mark Davis for Al Holland and Joe Morgan. He was okay, a Giants career ERA+ of 92, his best year coming in '86 when he wins 20 games and finishes third in the Cy Young race. He's in the Giants rotation really until breaking down in '89, the last season of his career.
Walk off 2000 home vs. Texas, we're a game and a half out of first place on a Tuesday night in our first season at Pac Bell, we trail 3-2 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Armando Rios hits a 3 run homer off of John Wetteland, to thrill the crowd and move us to a half game off the lead. A year later Rios is gone with Vogelsong in the deadline deal with the Pirates that gets us Jason Schmidt.
See you tomorrow. Go Giants!
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