SAN FRANCISCO–Talk about an exciting way to start a ballgame.
That’s what Denard Span provided at AT&T Park on Saturday night versus the Philadelphia Phillies. The Giants’ center fielder led off the bottom of the first inning with an inside-the-park home run off of the Phillies’ Jerad Eickhoff on the very first pitch he saw.
“An inside-the-parker to start the game, that’s just so rare,” Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy said prior to Sunday’s game. “It brought a lot of fire and energy to the dugout.”
The Giants ended up losing 12-9 to the Phillies, but Span’s home run was hardly forgotten, and for good reason. It’s the 11th inside-the-park home run at AT&T Park and seventh by a Giants player.
While the play is far from a common occurrence at AT&T Park, leading off the game with an inside-the-park home run is a historic feat on a whole new level. Johnny Rucker was the last Giant to lead off a game with an inside-the-parker, all the way back on June 20, 1945, when the organization was still in New York.
Span launched Eickhoff’s first pitch of the game to Triples’ Alley in right-center field. Phillies’ right fielder Cameron Perkins accidentally kicked the ball when chasing after it, leading Span to be able to cross home plate standing.
"You want to get the crowd going?" @thisisdspan says how about a lead off Inside-the-Park HR. #SFGiants up 1-0https://t.co/E8JdoW0m3f pic.twitter.com/QbcudhKi7E
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 20, 2017
“That ball, Pablo (Sandoval) probably would have had an inside-the-parker,” Bochy joked. “Pablo did say, ‘If that was me, you would’ve had to take me out of the game’”.
It brought a spark to a Giants team that will latch onto any positives it can during a rough 2017 season.
