Giants make franchise history twice by beating Phillies originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
On a farewell night, the Giants managed to add more franchise records than runs.
Sparked by Luis Matos’ sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th on Tuesday, the Giants won a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park and marked a new date for sacrifice flies and reliever strikeout achievements.
Since sacrifice flies became an official MLB statistic in 1954, Matos’ sacrifice to left field was the first time San Francisco won 1-0 on a sacrifice fly since May 26, 1966. His opponent at that time was also the Phillies, and Juan Marichal pitched 14 innings, as Darin Stephens shared on social media.
Since sacrifice flights became official in 1954, the only other time #SFGigantes won one game 1-0 with a sacrifice fly: May 26, 1966 against the Phillies (by pinch-hitter Bob Barton in the 14th inning). Juan Marichal pitched all 14 innings for the Giants.https://t.co/2w1Zwxpunj
– Darin Stephens (@SharksStats) May 29, 2024
After nine scoreless innings on Tuesday, the Giants finally found their home after Tyler Fitzgerald, who was placed at second to start the 10th and reached third base on a fly ball, shook home after a fly ball from sacrifice of Matos. The victory clinched the series for San Francisco over Philadelphia.
However, the Giants’ victory would not have been possible if not for the bullpen’s emphatic performance against the team with the best record in MLB.
San Francisco’s five relievers blanked the Phillies in 10 innings in the bullpen game, setting a franchise record for most strikeouts by relievers in a single month with 138 in May. The Giants’ previous record was set with 134 strikeouts by relievers in June 2023, according to the team.
With two games remaining in May, Giants relievers are 27 strikeouts behind the MLB record (165) set by the Brewers bullpen in September 2019.
Tuesday night’s win may have lacked offensive firepower, but the Giants managed to deliver a thrilling end to a historic night.
