Bryce Eldridge now has a batting average, and he nearly hit a grand slam for his first MLB hit. According to Sarah Langs of MLB.Com, he became the youngest SF Giants player to record a three-RBI game since Jack Clark on September 12, 1976.
SF Giants prospect Bryce Eldridge joins rare company with first MLB hit
When the Giants called up Eldridge, he became one of the youngest Giants players to debut in recent memory. Matt Cain was just a couple of days older when he made his MLB debut in 2005, but Madison Bumgarner had just turned 20 when he made his debut in 2009.
On the other hand, Clark was just 19 when he made his debut for the Giants in 1975. He went on to have an excellent career, posting an .854 OPS with 340 home runs and 1,180 RBI across 18 seasons, 10 of which came with the Giants.
In Eldridge’s first impression with the Giants, he has been striking out a bit, but also making a lot of hard contact. Eventually, a hit was going to fall, and it nearly fell over the fence at Dodger Stadium.
Interestingly, Eldridge joins some recent fan favorites with his first MLB hit. Both Buster Posey and Brandon Belt recorded their first career hits against the Dodgers, too. If you can believe it, Belt’s first hit came in his first at-bat against Clayton Kershaw.
Why is that hard to believe? Belt would go on to tally just three more hits in his next 61 at-bats against the southpaw pitcher. Here is your trivia fact of the day. In that game, Rod Barajas was the Dodgers’ catcher. This past summer, the Giants drafted his son, Rod Barajas Jr., in the 11th round of the MLB draft.
Getting your first career hit against the Dodgers is a great sign for the future. In the case of Bryce Eldridge, it was a bases-clearing double. He notched his first hit, double, and RBI all in the same play.
Eldridge became the youngest Giants hitter in the last 50 years to put together a three-RBI game. Unfortunately, the Giants could not sustain that momentum, as they dropped the game by a score of 7-5. While the result was not what they had hoped, the Giants hope that the hits begin for fall for Eldridge.
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