Yesterday.
Here are the top 5 June 8 moments in San Francisco Giants history.
Walk off 1960 home vs. Reds, 10 games over .500 and a game out of first, we only had 4 hits coming into the bottom of the 9th (the Reds had 3) and trailed 1-0 with 2 out and the bases loaded, Eddie Bressoud singled home Willie Kirkland and Orlando Cepeda off of Jim o'Toole to win the game. It was the 20th walk off hit in San Francisco history. Bressoud was a utility guy who had come over with the club from New York - except for '59 and this year when he was the starting shortstop. Good enough glove, hit like a shortstop - he was the first overall pick by Houston in the expansion draft after the '61 season.
1969 home vs. Phillies, the Giants are 2.5 games off the lead coming into this one, only 9000 paid on a Sunday afternoon at the Stick, they got 3 and a half hours of baseball, Giants down 6-5 in the 8th, Willie Mays hits a 2 run homer off of John Boozer - it took another 4 innings, but we'd win the game 9-8 in 12. Mays failed to hit 20 homers in '69 - that was the first time that had happened since 1952.
1975 at Pittsburgh, Sunday doubleheader at Three Rivers, we had already taken the first game, tied at 2 with 2 on and 2 out in the 9th, Marc Hill doubles both men home off of Dave Giusti. It's Hill's first season in San Francisco, we got him from the Cards for Elias Sosa and another backup catcher, Ken Rudolph. Mostly, Hill was a backup in his 5+ seasons as a Giant, we sold him to the Mariners in the middle of 1980.
1996 home vs. Cardinals, half dozen games out of first, Todd Stottlemyre held us to 2 hits through seven innings, but with the score tied 1-1 and two outs in the 8th, Stan Javier hit a 3 run double to put us up the eventual winning 4-1 margin. Once upon a time a 21 year old Javier was part of the package the A's got from the Yankees in the Rickey Henderson trade; now he was 32, having signed with the Giants in the offseason. By and large he was a 4th OF for the Giants for most of four seasons until being dealt to Houston in late '99 for a non-prospect.
Walk off 2006 home vs Pirates, three out of first, opening up a homestand against Pittsburgh, 4-4 in the bottom of the 9th, 2 out, bases loaded, Moises Alou at the plate - Matt Capps throws a wild pitch to score Eliezer Alfonzo with the winning run.
See you tomorrow. Go Giants!
