May 22
Dad Was Pretty Good, Too: Bobby Bonds had himself quite a day during a 7-3 San Francisco Giants victory over the Atlanta Braves at Atlanta Stadium on this date in 1973. Batting leadoff, Bonds stole second base and scored in the first inning, doubled and scored in the third inning, singled and stole two bases (including home) in the fourth, and homered in the ninth.
May 23
Two First Names, Two Walks Per Inning: The Giants somehow defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-3 in the second game of a doubleheader at Candlestick Park on this date in 1982, despite eight base on balls issued in 4+ innings by their starting pitcher, Mike Chris. Amazingly, only two of the walked baserunners scored, and no-walk performances by relievers Dan Schatzeder and Jim Barr shut down the Cubs the rest of the way for a relatively easy victory and a doubleheader sweep.
May 24
Let’s Play 17: In an amazing game at Busch Stadium, the Giants finally defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 9-6 in 17 innings on this date in 1998. Trailing 4-2 in the ninth, Barry Bonds hit a two-out, two-run home run to tie the game. Three innings later in the twelfth, Jeff Kent hit a two-run home run of his own to put the Giants ahead 6-4, but Mark McGwire tied the game with a two-out, two-run home run of his own! The Giants finally pulled ahead to stay with a three-run rally in the seventeenth, thanks in large part to a throwing error by Cardinals reliever Kent Mercker.
May 25
Slugfest in Pittsburgh: The Giants needed all five of their home runs in a 9-8 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium on this date in 1990. Kevin Mitchell hit three of those roundtrippers and drove in five runs. The Pirates hit three home runs of their own, including one by a skinny guy named Barry Bonds.
May 26
Way Before Bonds, There Was Heinie: In the second game of a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds on this date in 1922, third baseman Heinie Groh walked five times in a 10-2 New York Giants victory over the Boston Braves. The man that followed Groh in the lineup, future Hall of Famer Ross Youngs, made the Braves pay with a four-hit performance, driving in three runs.
May 27
15Ks Not Enough: On this date in 2000 at Pac Bell Park, the Giants jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one inning and Giants pitchers struck out a total of 15 batters, but it wasn’t enough in a 3-2 extra innings defeat to the Cubs. Starter Russ Ortiz one-hit the Cubs for six innings and struck out eleven (and also walked seven), but the Cubs tied it in the eighth with a two-run home run from Henry Rodriguez, and went ahead in the eleventh after a leadoff double by Rodriguez led to the third Cubs run.
May 28
3 Hits, 1 Run Enough: On this date in 2002 at Pac Bell Park, the Giants managed only one hit in nine innings off of opposing starter Miguel Batista, but still managed to defeat the Arizona Diamondback 1-0 in ten innings. Giants starter Jason Schmidt matched zeros with Batista for nine innings, allowing only three hits. Barry Bonds scored the winning run in the tenth by leading off with a walk and scoring on Benito Santiago’s single. Robb Nen won it in relief