Jarrett Parker makes home run history as San Francisco Giants win Battle of the Bay

Sep 25, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Former Oakland Athletics teammates San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Hudson and A s pitcher Barry Zito were reunited for a press conference before they face each other in Saturday

Game 2

If I said I was heartbroken after Friday night’s loss to the A’s…well, that would be an understatement of epic proportions. But Saturday was a new day. I dusted myself off, turned on the TV and settled in to watch the Giants.

Saturday’s game was Game Two in the Battle of the Bay. It was billed as the pitching duel of the season. More like the decade, or the century. Big. Huge.

It featured Barry Zito, a former pitching ace for the A’s, former Giant, current minor league pitcher for the A’s who got called up to the bigs earlier this week. In the Giants corner, we had Tim Hudson, who started with the A’s, left for Atlanta and now has a place in the Giants starting rotation. It was the reunion of two former teammates. It was the stuff from which movies are made and it was the big story of the day. Until it wasn’t.

When the game started, though, it was the stuff from which dreams are made. Giants fans dreams, that is.  Kelby Tomlinson hit a single, Duffy did the same, and Byrd brought them both home with a double in the first inning.

Jarrett Parker, one of our September call-ups hit a solo home run in the second, Pagan doubled and scored when Kelby hit another single. Add two more runs in the second. The Giants held a four run lead after only two innings.

The bottom half of the inning was the stuff of nightmares. All hell broke loose, the wheels came flying off the bus, chaos reigned. If you think I’m exaggerating, think again.

Hudson, who was practically perfect in the first, walked the A’s lead-off man in the second. He hit the next one with a pitch. The next one hit a ground ball to third, and what could have been, what would have been, what should have been, an easy out, maybe even a double play turned into an error and everyone was safe. Bases loaded.

Hudson walked the next two hitters, walking in a run for each and leaving the bases loaded.

The fans who were there because they were baseball fans were getting their money’s worth as long as there was a game on the field. The fans that came to see the clash of the titans, not so much. For those fans, the game was over after two innings. But Giants fans, who are there to see their team, win or lose, who stay as long as the Giants are playing—who like the Goonies, never say die—were about to be in for a real treat. And it’s not even Halloween.

Manager Bruce Bochy took Hudson out after an inning and a third, and not a moment too soon. Hudson allowed three runs (two earned) on one hit and three walks. Add two hit batters to that. Clearly, he didn’t have his usual command. I hated to see Hudson going through that. Especially now when he is down to his last games. Honestly, I expected Zito to fold first, after all he’s been pitching minor league ball. He lasted two innings. The clash of the titans was over almost before it started.

Ryan Vogelsong pitched in relief, got a double play in the second, but in the third gave the A’s an even bigger inning than the one they had in the second. He gave up five runs on five hits and one walk. He struck out one. Matt Cain pitched two innings and gave up two runs on two hits.

The Giants scored three more runs in the sixth. Trevor Brown doubled and scored on Pagan’s single, Kelby reached on a fielder’s choice, taking Pagan out, Duffy doubled, scoring Kelby and Buster plated Duffy with a single. Two runs were scored in the seventh, on a a two-run home run by Parker and five runs in the eighth.

Kelby led-off with a single, moved to third on Buster’s double, and came home on Byrd’s sac fly. Brandon Crawford was intentionally walked, De Aza walked, advancing Crawford to second and Buster to third. Then our hit-two-home-runs-already-this-game rookie Parker came to the plate, and BAM! He hit it high! He hit it deep! He. Hit. It. Out—ta…heeeere! Rookie pop. Big time.

Three home runs by a rookie in one game. Unheard of. A three home run game with seven RBI puts him in the ranks of Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. No other rookie has ever done that. I told you the Giants fans were in for a real treat, didn’t I? The final score was: Giants 14, A’s 10

Like I said, the big-shots have a lot to think about this winter.