Orange Friday at Oracle Park in San Francisco. A great pitching duel between two upcoming rookies (Kyle Harrison, Quinn Priester). Both throwing six innings, allowing zero runs. Relievers relieving and fielders fielding. Each team had its speedy centerfielder track down what looked like an extra bases blast off the bat. The game stayed scoreless going into the ninth inning.
In the top of the ninth Giants closer Camilo Doval got himself out of a bases loaded, one out jam with a double-play ball. Up come the Giants, bottom of the ninth, no score. With Oracle Park growing wilder and wilder with every pitch, Michael Conforto battles out of an 0-2 count, earning a walk. Pirates closer David Bednar did himself no favors on a 1-2 count Automatic Ball Pitch Violation, making it 2-2.
Next, Giants Matt Chapman gets a single on a 1-2 count fastball. Up to this point he'd gone 0-3 on the night, while as a team the Giants had four hits to the Pirates 8, striking out eleven times.
With men on second and third, nobody out, Giants catcher Patrick Bailey comes to the plate. Oracle is rocking with 37,000 loyal fans pushing the ballpark decibel meter off the chart. Former Giant Joey Bart, traded earlier this month to the Pirates, is catching the ninth. Bailey fouls off a high fastball then takes a splitter for a ball. On a 1-1 count, with the fans ready to explode, Bailey gets the same high fastball pitch as before and blasts it over the right-field brick wall into a mosh pit of screaming, celebrating Giants fans. A walk-off homerun for Patrick Bailey, his second walk-off homer of the season. Friday Night Fireworks immediately lit up the night skies of the bay.
Patrick Bailey LEFT NO DOUBT! See the FULL half-inning for the Giants WALK-OFF! (youtube.com)
Orange Fridays are alive and well at Oracle Park!
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