Yesterday
Here are the top 5 August 21 moments in San Francisco Giants history.
Walk off 1976 home vs. Montreal, we're 26.5 games out and playing in front of 3600 paid on a Saturday afternoon at the Stick - that's not a Wednesday afternoon, that's a Saturday afternoon. Fans got their money's worth, 16 innings and over 4 hours of baseball. 4-4 with 2 out in the bottom of the 16th, Larry Herndon wins the game with a run scoring single off of Chip Lang. We got Herndon from the Cardinals for Ron Bryant early in the '75 season, he was a Giant for 6 seasons, starting in both center and left (career Giants OPS+ 93) before we dealt him to Detroit for Dan Schatzeder after the '81 season. He finished his career as a Tiger in '88.
1985 at New York, we're 25.5 out in a 100 loss season, a day after Gooden struck out 16, we trail 2-1 in the 9th when Bob Brenly hits a 2 run homer off Roger McDowell and we're gonna win this 3-2. Brenly didn't play a big league game until he was 27 in 1981, took over the starting catching position in '83 and had his career year in '84 (131 OPS+. 4.35 WAR, through 2016 it's the 21st best season for a catcher in franchise history) was productive through '87 and then fell off the table, we let him go after the '88 season, he spent 48 games in Toronto in '89 and then came back to the Giants for a dozen games down the stretch to end his career.
1986 home vs. Philadelphia, we were tied for first on July 20, but a month later are 7.5 out, have lost 4 straight (the Phillies were 3 outs from a perfect game the night before) and on the verge of waving goodbye to '86. Fewer than 8,000 paid on a Thursday afternoon at the Stick, a 2 run 8th inning single by Luis Quinones off of Kent Tekulve cut a Phillies lead to 6-5, and Candy Maldonado followed with a 2 run double to put us up 7-6 and that's going to be the final score. Quinones had 19 hits as a Giant. His most notable accomplishment was being the return in an early season '85 trade with the Indians for....Johnnie LeMaster. Quinones signs with the A's in the offseason but is dealt 8 days later to the Cubs for Ron Cey. Within a year and a half, Luis Quinones was traded for Johnny LeMaster and Ron Cey. That's good stuff.
Walk off 2003 home vs. Atlanta, we walked them off on Tuesday, walked them off on Wednesday, and this is (maybe, I don't know) the only time in San Francisco history we've walked off the same team 3 straight days, we have a 9.5 game lead in the west, 25 games over .500, Jason Schmidt goes 8, gives up just 4 baserunners, 3-3 in the 10th, two nights before Barry homered off of Ray King in the 10th to win the game - tonight, he got Trey Hodges, with one out, Barry hit the first pitch out to win this one. That's homer 652 for Bonds, his 9th career walk off homer. He hits one more in his career, off the Rockies next May.
He had two with the Pirates, one in '86 against Steve Bedrosian, and then one 5 years later against Lee Smith.
The rest were in San Francisco. He got Trevor Hoffman in '95, Jose Lima in '97, Billy Brewer (pitching for the Phillies and not Milwaukee) in '99, Alan Embree in '02 and then 3 in '03, Mike Myers in July and the two against the Braves.
2011 at Houston, between May 10 and August 10 we were never more than half a game out of first place, coming into this one we're 2 and a half back (and the same in the WC) after dropping 3 straight. 4-4 in the top of the 11th, Pablo Sandoval facing future teammate Mark Melancon with 2 out - Pablo hits a 2 run homer and we're gonna take it 6-4. It's Sandoval's best year with the bat, a 155 OPS+, and he cracked 6 WAR - the greatest season for a third baseman in San Francisco history and 5th best in franchise history.
See you tomorrow. Go Giants!
