SAN FRANCISCO — On Tuesday evening, Patrick Bailey etched his name into Major League Baseball history with a decisive swing that launched a fastball from Phillies reliever Jordan Romano into Triples Alley.
Bailey’s achievement concluded as he sprinted around third base and was joyfully swarmed by his teammates at home plate, marking his place as only the third catcher in major league history to achieve a game-ending, inside-the-park home run.
The three-run homer rocketed off the bat at 103.4 mph and struck the brick wall at the Giants’ waterfront stadium, careening back towards center field while Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh hurried after it.
Bailey said his initial thought was to get a triple before he saw third base coach Matt Williams waving him in.
“Off the ball I just knew I got it well,” Bailey said. “I saw it was towards Triples Alley and I was like, ‘Oh I gotta go. I at least gotta get to third.’ Once I saw the bounce, I was like ‘All right, just don’t fall over.’ ”
It’s the ninth time this season that the Giants have won in their final at-bat, tops in the majors.
It was also the first time in nearly nine years that a player has hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run in the majors.
Cleveland’s Tyler Naquin was the last to do so on Aug. 19, 2016.
The three-run home run lifted the Giants to a 4-3 victory that had the Oracle Park crowd roaring as Bailey crossed the plate.
“He has gotten some big hits this year,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “In big situations he’s come through. Not as much as he would like. Hopefully that’s something that catapults him. Haven’t seen him drive a ball like that in a while.”
Bailey couldn’t recall if he had previously hit an inside-the-park home run at any level. And as nice as this one was, Bailey said that he would have preferred to hit a regular home run.
“Tired,” Bailey said when asked how he felt. “I wished it would have gone over the fence.”
