Giants write franchise history twice with walk-off victory vs. Phillies originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
On a walk-off night, the Giants managed to rack up more franchise history points than runs.
Powered by Luis Matos’ walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th on Tuesday, the Giants earned a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park and set a new date for walk-off sacrifice flies and reliever strikeout performances.
Since sacrifice flies became an official MLB statistic in 1954, Matos’ walk-off sacrifice to left field marked the first time San Francisco won 1-0 on a sacrifice fly since May 26, 1966. Their opponent then was also the Phillies , and Juan Marichal pitched 14 innings, as shared on social media by Darin Stephens.
Since pocket flies became official in 1954, the only other time the #SFGiants won a game 1-0 on a walk-off sac fly: May 26, 1966 vs. Phillies (by pinch-hitter Bob Barton in the 14th inning). Juan Marichal pitched all 14 innings for the Giants.https://t.co/2w1Zwxpunj
— Darin Stephens (@SharksStats) May 29, 2024
After nine scoreless innings Tuesday, the Giants finally found home after Tyler Fitzgerald, who was placed at second to start the 10th and advanced to third on a flyout, bounced home on Matos’ deep sacrifice fly. The win clinched the series for San Francisco over Philadelphia.
However, the Giants’ victory wouldn’t have been possible without the bullpen’s emphatic performance against the team with the best record in the MLB.
San Francisco’s five relievers shut out the Phillies in 10 innings of bullpen play, setting a franchise strikeout record for most strikeouts by relievers in a single month, with 138 in May. The previous Giants record was set with 134 strikeouts by relievers in June 2023, the team said.
With two games remaining in May, the Giants’ relievers are 27 strikeouts behind the MLB record (165) set by the Brewers’ bullpen in September 2019.
Tuesday night’s win may have lacked offensive firepower, but the Giants managed to bring an exciting end to a historic night.
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