Bryce Eldridge caps wild Giants rally from 9-1 deficit with walk-off grand to stun Nationals: 'I want to be the face of this franchise'

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The San Francisco Giants called up top prospect Bryce Eldridge in May, hoping that he could provide a spark to a sluggish offense.

He delivered on Wednesday beyond any reasonable expectations to cap one of the wildest finishes of this or any MLB season.

The Giants entered the eighth inning of Wednesday’s home game trailing the Washington Nationals, 9-1. They proceeded to score five runs in the fifth inning, then loaded the bases in the the ninth while facing a 10-7 deficit.

Eldridge took the plate and delivered a walk-off grand slam to secure an 11-10 win to stun the visiting Nationals.

‘I want to be the face of this franchise’

Needless to say, the rookie was mobbed by his celebratory teammates once he crossed home plate. Eldridge put the moment in perspective while speaking with reporters after the game.

“I want to be the face of this franchise,” Eldridge said, per NBC Sports Bay Area. … “I want to be in that moment. I want to be that guy, so it was pretty special.”

How a 9-1 lead gets blown in 2 innings

The Giants looked down and out in this game, so much that the local NBC Sports Network’s social media mockingly tweeted about an eighth-inning Rafael Devers home run that cut Washington’s lead to 9-3.

That home run followed up a leadoff blast by Matt Chapman for the second San Francisco run of the game. Two walks, a double, an RBI groundout and a wild pitch later, the Giants had cut their deficit to 9-6 heading into the ninth.

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Nationals reliever Paxton Schultz didn’t record an out in the frame and was tagged with 5 earned runs on 4 hits, 3 walks and 2 home runs allowed for the day after getting three outs in the seventh.

His replacements on the mound didn’t fare much better. After the Nationals added a run in the top half of the ninth, Gabe Varland took the mound for Washington in care of a 10-6 lead.

Varland allowed leadoff doubles to Luis Arraez and Chapman that scored a run, then walked Rafael Devers. His day was done without recording an out. Mitchell Parker took his place and immediately allowed a single by Jung Hoo Lee to load the bases.

Up to the plate stepped Eldridge for his heroics. Eldridge watched two sliders miss the plate for balls 1 and 2. When Parker delivered another slider over the plate for the third pitch of the at-bat, Eldridge unleashed and delivered the ball into the right-field bleachers, just short of McCovey Cove.

Bryce Eldridge looks very much like "that guy" for the Giants.

Eldridge is delivering on the hype

The grand slam is the standout highlight of what’s so far been a successful stint in the big leagues for Eldridge, who was no slouch before Wednesday.

Eldridge, who was called up on May 3 as the 20th-ranked prospect in all of baseball, entered Wednesday’s game slashing .300/.385/.500 with 3 home runs and 8 RBI in 27 games this season.

It hasn’t yet resulted in much winning for the Giants, who remained in fourth place in the NL West at 28-41.

But Eldridge is looking very much like “that guy” and a cornerstone for the Giants as they look to future with hopes of returning to winning ways.

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