Kris Bryant homers in dramatic Giants debut, a 53 win over Houston Astros.
Homer in debut helps Giants beat Astros 53
No pressure, Kris Bryant. All his old friends from Chicago did was introduce themselves to their new teams with authority.
Anthony Rizzo, home run in his first Yankees game.
Javy Baez, home run in his first Mets game. You’re up, Kris.
“It’s cool to see what they’ve done in their debuts,” Bryant said. “Maybe there’s some magic there.”
Abracadabra, look what Mr. Bryant pulled out of his new Giants cap.
Bryant cleared the leftfield wall for his 19th homer of the season, his first as a Giant, in Sunday’s 53 victory over the Astros and 29,655 at Oracle Park welcomed the newcomer with positive vibes, thunderous ovations and an anticipation the hits will keep on coming.
Darin Ruf also homered and drove in three runs and Logan Webb pitched six innings of tworun ball. But the presence of Bryant, acquired minutes before Friday’s trade deadline for two prospects, is what set apart the Giants’ majorsleading 66th win.
Bryant went 1for4 and struck out in his first atbat, an eightpitch duel with Luis Garcia — who’s particularly tough against righthanded batters. In his next atbat, Bryant didn’t need to get deep into the count.
He hit Garcia’s second pitch, a 94mph fastball on the inner half — almost effortlessly and nonchalantly — and smoked it 366 feet. The crowd erupted, the fog horn went off and the “Bye Bye Baby” song blared throughout the stadium after the inning, all part of the beingaGiant experience.
“You kind of knew he was going to hit a home run,” Webb said, “just because Javy Baez and Rizzo did it also.”
Ruf said, “We were going to send him back if he didn’t homer himself. Luckily, we get to keep him.”
Already, Bryant seems to relish his place on the team and, while speaking of his new digs, comes off in a Hunter Penceinspirational kind of way.
“That’s the team I want to play for, the team I want to win a championship with, the team I want to form relationships with,” said Bryant, who grew up a Barry Bonds fan and revealed he had been rooting before the deadline to be a Giant.
“Going from one storied franchise to another, I feel super grateful. I don’t know why I deserve this, but it’s been really cool for me to experience this.”
It started when Bryant, after flying from Washington, checked into his San Francisco hotel with his wife, Jessica, and son, Kyler, late Saturday and found Giants gear everywhere. On the bed, in the closet.
“Talk about making a first impression on me and my wife. Pretty good one,” Bryant said. “Kyler would not let go of the jersey last night. He’s recognizing the Giants logo now and keeps saying ‘Daddy’ to that logo. I’m over the moon right now.”
The lovefest carried into Sunday when Bryant was welcomed by his new teammates and fans, who cheered him during infield practice and gave him a standing ovation before his first atbat. He called that one of the best fan moments of his career. He also appreciated, while somewhat stunned, that he got applause after striking out.
“It made me feel like I was a rookie again, like I was the No. 1 prospect coming up making his debut,” Bryant said. “That was really special, and I want to thank all the fans. They’ve really made this day very memorable for me.”
Manager Gabe Kapler was thrilled to write Bryant’s name on his lineup card as the No. 2 hitter and third baseman. “Fun,” Kapler said, promising that Bryant will play around the diamond as he did in Chicago.
Bryant made a throwing error after picking up Martin Maldonado’s grounder to open the fifth, but Webb got through the inning. In fact, the Astros’ only damage on Webb’s watch was Yuli Gurriel’s tworun homer in the first.
Bryant’s homer ignited a threerun rally in the third inning that included runscoring singles by Brandon Crawford and Ruf.
Ruf ’s fifthinning homer made it 52, and the Astros scored an eighthinning run off Tyler Rogers. Jake McGee pitched a perfect ninth.
On his first day in his new job, Bryant felt as if he were in the right place at the right time.
“I feel giddy,” he said. “It felt like Christmas morning, honestly.”