MLB Hoosiers (Sept. 1): Dickerson Has 3 Home Runs, 2 Doubles in Giants' Historic 23-5 Win
The San Francisco Giants' franchise has played more than 20,000 games dating back to 1883 and their start in New York, and all during that time, not a single player had ever had five extra-base hits in one game.
Until Tuesday night.
Left fielder Alex Dickerson, a 30-year-old who starred collegiately at Indiana, hit three home runs and had two doubles in a 23-5 blowout win over the Colorado Rockies in Denver. He finished 5-for-6 on the night, and he raised his batting average from .221 to .261 in one night. He also walked once, and scored five runs on the night.
He's the first-ever Giant to do so, and he became just the 15th major-leaguer to get five extra-base hits in a game. Two other teammates — Donovan Solano and Brandon Crawford — also had six RBIs, and that was the first time in MLB history that three teammates all had at least six RBIs in a game. RBIs became a stat in 1920.
Dickerson's 16 total bases tied the Giants' record held by Hall of Famer Willie Mays.
"It's incredible company," Dickerson said of Mays after the game. "I mean, the things that he did in his career and everything that he means to San Francisco, to even be mentioned in the same breath as him is an incredible honor."
Dickerson's first homer in the first inning traveled 480 feet to deep right field, the longest homer ever by a Giant in the StatCast era. He he another homer in the second inning with a man on, and the third long ball came in the sixth inning with two men on.
That seventh and final plate appearance came with Rockies' catcher Drew Butera pitching, and he hit a double off the wall that traveled 414 feet in spacious Coors Field, and would have been a home run in all 29 other MLB parks.
"It's a little harder to be honest," Dickerson said. "A lot of times when you're going really well in a lot of these games, the position player at-bat is the one that gets you. It's just a different look. It's not what you've been tuned up to all day. I was really just trying to get something away and drive it the opposite field."
The 23 runs and 27 hits tied a Giants record in the laugher
"After the third homer the chants in the dugout weren't quite as enthusiastic," Crawford said, smiling. "It was like, okay, another homer, cool."
Dickerson now has seven homers on the season. He has 23 career homers in his fifth MLB season, and the Giants, who were supposed to be in rebuilding mode this season, are xx-xx and still in the thick of things for a National League playoff spot.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the onslaught was the timing — directly after the front office showed its faith, and the team responded immediately and loudly.
“We’re very comfortable with what we had,” Dickerson said of the Giants’ roster. “And them not making really any moves is something we were fine with. We’re gonna roll through and feel like we can win baseball games on a consistent basis. It’s a good vibe right now.”
Other Hoosiers in the Pros on Tuesday
- Kyle Schwarber, Chicago Cubs: Schwarber hit another home run, his 10th of the season, in the Cubs' 8-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in 11 innings. Schwarber has hit five home runs in the past week. The Cubs blew a 6-1 lead, but came back to win it in extra innings to raise their record to 21-14 on the season and maintain their three-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central.
- Kyle Hart, Boston Red Sox: It was another rough night for Hart. After getting bounced around in his first three starts, he got rocked out of the bullpen in the 10-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Hart gave up seven hits and six runs in his two innings, In 11 innings this season, he has given up 24 hits and 10 runs, and his 15.55 earned run average is the highest in baseball for pitchers with nine innings or more.
- Josh Phegley, Chicago Cubs: Did not play.
- Caleb Baragar, San Francisco Giants: Did not play.
- Aaron Slegers, Tampa Bay Rays: Did not play in the Rays' 5-3 loss to the New York Yankees.
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