Estes’ shutout, slam crushes Expos

Barry Bonds and J.T. Snow each homered, and they combined to go 6for7 with eight RBIs. Not bad, but they became mere footnotes in the Giants’ 180 waltz over Montreal on May 24, 2000, at Pacific Bell Park.

That’s because Shawn Estes threw a sevenhit shutout and became the first pitcher in San Francisco Giants history to hit a grand slam. “That is probably the best performance I’ve seen by a pitcher,” manager Dusty Baker said.

Estes capped a sevenrun fifth inning with his basesloaded drive off righthander Mike Johnson to the bleachers in leftcenter. “With two outs and the bases loaded, I was just trying to make contact,” Estes said. “I usually don’t swing at the first pitch, but he just put it in there . ... A home run is weird for a pitcher to talk about. I don’t remember seeing the pitch the last 3 feet . ... It was kind of surreal.”

The previous pitcher who had slammed for the Giants was Monty Kennedy, who did it July 3, 1949, for the New York Giants against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Estes batted with the bases loaded again with two outs in the eighth, but had to settle for an RBI single.

The 180 win remains the largest shutout victory in San Francisco Giants history.