After walk-off slam, Giants’ Eldridge says he wants to be ‘face of this franchise’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bryce Eldridge said he wants to be the face of the Giants franchise.
- At 21 years and 233 days, Eldridge became the youngest to hit a walk-off grand slam.
- Eldridge hit a walk-off grand slam to complete an eight-run comeback win.
While the San Francisco Giants’ young star Bryce Eldridge may have grown up a Washington Nationals fan, the 21-year-old was singing a different tune after hitting a historic walk-off grand slam to cap an eight-run comeback win Wednesday afternoon over the Nats.
“I want to be the face of this franchise,” Eldridge told reporters postgame. “I wanted to be in that moment, I wanted to be that guy. So, having my first kind of big moment like that is very special.”
The home run also came with a bevy of historical accomplishments for Eldridge.
At 21 years and 233 days old, Eldridge became the youngest MLB player to ever hit a walk-off grand slam, surpassing Roberto Clemente, who accomplished the feat about 100 days older in 1956, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
“I’m trying to wipe my smile off my face and stay professional,” Eldridge said after hearing about his record. “That’s what I’ve worked for my whole life.”
The Statcast-projected 362-foot home run also capped off a historic comeback that saw the Giants score 10 runs in the final two innings after being down by eight runs going into the eighth inning to win 11-10.
The win marked only the second time the Giants had won a game after trailing by eight runs entering the eighth inning since 1901. The other predates the Giants’ move to San Francisco in 1958, coming by way of a 10-8 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 8, 1947.
The walk-off grand slam was just the second in Giants history to come when facing a three-run deficit.
Eldridge hitting his stride
Though Eldridge’s grand slam Wednesday has thrust him into the national spotlight, the former top prospect and No. 16 overall pick in the 2023 draft had already been catching eyes in the 27 MLB games he had already played in 2026, mostly as a designated hitter.
In almost 100 at bats, Eldridge is hitting almost .300 with an on-base plus slugging percentage above .900 to go along with four home runs, nine doubles and 14 RBIs. However, most of that production has come recently, as Eldridge has emerged from a slow start to becoming one of the hottest hitters in the league.
Over his last 11 games — beginning with a 4-for-5 performance that included a home run against the Colorado Rockies on May 31 — Eldridge is slashing an unreal .429/.500/.762 that includes three homers, five doubles and nine RBIs.
“Every single day I feel like that work’s paying off and I’m getting better every day,” Eldridge said after Wednesday’s game.
Eldridge’s recent run is perhaps only contested by teammate Jung Hoo Lee’s 18-game hitting streak, the longest ever for a Korean-born MLB player that has seen him hit .500 in that stretch. Both continued their runs with multiple hits Wednesday.
hough the pair have been the team’s hottest hitters, they have remained in the No. 5 and 6 positions in the lineup, respectively, though Giants manager Tony Vitello said there is potential for that to change soon.
“I don’t think there’s a perfect spot for a guy that’s got power but also is one of our best guys at getting on base,” Vitello said postgame Wednesday. “But it kind of landed on the sweet spot today with that situation.”
A rocky start to the season
After a tough spring training, Eldridge started his season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats before earning his second Major League promotion May 4 — the 6-foot-7 first baseman/designated hitter appeared in 10 games for the Giants in 2025.
In Sacramento, Eldridge was hitting .333 with a .963 OPS in 30 games.
While Eldridge was struggling early in May, and again once he began his recent hot streak, there have calls for Vitello to give the 21-year-old reps every day, as opposed to occasionally coming off the bench against certain matchups.
In late May, Eldridge told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale that he was “surprised” by the playing time he was receiving, though said he would do his best in whatever play time he got.
“With all the righties … that we’re going to see, he’s going to get about as much action as anybody on our roster,” Vitello said when asked about one instance of Eldridge’s staying on the bench, against left-hander Kyle Harrison on June 2. “Today, it’s nice to have a weapon on the bench.”
Eldridge entered that game against the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth inning and got a hit and an RBI.
What are others saying?
Giants star third baseman Matt Chapman said postgame, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, that he has been “super impressed” with Eldridge’s abilities on the field, as well as his demeanor and confidence off of it.
“He makes me feel old. When I was his age, I probably wasn’t ready to take the kind of at-bats that he’s taking,” said the 33-year-old Chapman, who hit two home runs in a four-hit game Wednesday. “Everybody takes their own path, but it’s really cool to see just his maturity and his ability to make adjustments and not let a bad at-bat affect him.”
Giants CEO Larry Baer, who has been an executive with the team since 1992, said on KNBR radio that becoming a franchise player, like Giants legends Will Clark and Barry Bonds, requires a level of confidence and drive that he said Eldridge has.
“I think the first step in being that player is wanting to be that player,” Baer said. “That comment wasn’t a braggadocios comment, in my view, it was just a comment that showed his confidence. You’ve gotta be confident when you’re 21 and breaking into the Big Leagues.”
Two Bay Area sports columnists, Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard and Dave Toebner of SFGate, argued that Eldridge had already become the face of the franchise with Wednesday’s grand slam.
Eldridge’s rise, Toebner argued, was more important given the Giants overall struggles as a team this season, currently just 1.5 games out of last place in the National League West with a 28-41 record.
“Suddenly, Giants games aren’t must-miss affairs anymore,” Toebner wrote in his column. “Suddenly, this franchise belongs to Bryce Eldridge.”
After a home off-day Thursday, Eldridge and the Giants will next take the field at 7:15 p.m. Friday against the Chicago Cubs at Oracle Park.
