Tyler Fitzgerald turns into first Giants participant to perform home-run feat since Barry Bonds
San Francisco rookie Tyler Fitzgerald became the first Giants player since Barry Bonds to hit a home run in five consecutive games on Tuesday night, when he launched a second-inning blast against Los Angeles Dodgers righty Landon Knack (GameTracker).
Fitzgerald’s home run had a 104 mph exit velocity and carried some 379 feet. Per Statcast, his ball would have cleared the fences in 29 of 30 MLB parks. The exception? Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Here’s a look at the home run in video form:
According to Sarah Langs of MLB’s research, Fitzgerald is the eighth Giants player in franchise history to homer five or more games in a row. The others are Barry Bonds, Robby Thompson, Jack Clark, Willie Mays, Walker Cooper, Mel Ott and George Kelly. (Both Bonds and Mays did it on four or more occasions, speaking to their sustained brilliance.) It’s notable that Fitzgerald is the only one of those players who accomplished the feat as a rookie.
Fitzgerald, 26, entered Tuesday having hit .277/.338/.529 (145 OPS+) with seven home runs and nine stolen bases (on 11 attempts) over the course of his first 48 big-league games. Fitzgerald has primarily played shortstop as of late — Tuesday’s game was his fourth consecutive start at the position — but he’s also seen action in center and at the other non-first base infield positions during his brief big-league career. He was originally acquired as a fourth-round pick in 2019 by way of Louisville.
The Giants entered Tuesday with a 48-53 record, putting them 12 games back of the Dodgers in the National League West. The Giants were just four games back in the NL wild-card race behind the New York Mets, who defeated the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
