Struggling SF Giants hitter continues to thrive in key spots at the plate

Patrick Bailey drilled a three-run home run on Tuesday night to give the SF Giants the lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Overall, Bailey continues to struggle at the plate, but thrives with runners on base.

Struggling SF Giants hitter continues to thrive in key spots at the plate

That swing of the bat came against left-handed reliever Jack Dreyer and proved to be the difference in the game. Bailey has struggled regardless of the pitcher, but his subpar production as a right-handed hitter has broached the conversation about whether he should give up switch-hitting altogether. 

Oddly enough, his last two home runs have come up in big spots off of a pair of Dodgers southpaw relievers. His last home run before Tuesday night was about as memorable as they come.

That one came off Tanner Scott on September 12, 2025. It was a walk-off grand slam, and for a moment, it felt like the Giants had something special brewing.

Throughout his career, Bailey has struggled at the plate. He is an elite defensive catcher, and that is what keeps his name in the lineup. The offense has gotten off to a slow start, but too much focus has been on Bailey’s struggles. It is overlooking the rest of the lineup, which the front office expects to produce. They do not expect that with Bailey. Anything he offers with the bat is a bonus.

Across four major league seasons, Bailey is hitting .226/.283/.333 (73 wRC+) with a 7.2 percent walk rate, 26.2 percent strikeout rate, and .107 ISO. This includes a .429 OPS in 63 plate appearances to start this year.

However, the 26-year-old backstop is a much different and better hitter with runners in scoring position. In these spots, he is slashing .264/.314/.436 (104 wRC+) in 376 career plate appearances.

Front offices typically view these stats more as noise than anything reliable. If he was able to maintain that level of production, he might have multiple All-Star appearances under his belt. Unfortunately, that has never been the case.

The trick might be hypnotizing Bailey into believing that he is always hitting with runners in scoring position. Some people may not believe in hypnosis, but it worked on Peter in Office Space, so that is good enough for me. In the meantime, Bailey had another unexpected swing of the bat in a key moment. 

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