The San Francisco Giants' wild 13-12 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night was due in large part to Joc Pederson hitting three home runs -- making him the first in the franchise to do so since Barry Bonds.
Joc Pederson is the first Giants player with a 3-HR game at home since Barry Bonds in 1994. pic.twitter.com/lGbsrHbXD1
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 25, 2022
Coincidentally, Pederson had a lengthy discussion with the home run king prior to Tuesday's game.
"It sounds cliche, but Barry Bonds was here and he talked to me and Lamonte Wade Jr. for quite a while," Pederson said in a post-game interview with NBC Sports Bay Area. "We were just talking... It just kind of freed my mind up. The way he talks about hitting helped me out a little bit. I'm still kind of speechless [about] the whole process."
Step 1: Joc Pederson spends his afternoon talking to Barry Bonds.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) May 25, 2022
Step 2: Joc Pederson turns into Barry Bonds: pic.twitter.com/pRLqxjfup6
Pederson's third homer of the evening was perhaps his most impressive. San Francisco had blown a late 8-2 lead over New York by allowing a seven-run eighth inning to make it 11-8. Pederson then tied the game up with a three-run shot in the bottom of the inning that sailed over the outfield seats and into McCovey Cove.
.@yungjoc650 just hit his THIRD home run of the night to tie the game in the 8th @SFGiants pic.twitter.com/xb0u6NZdmC
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) May 25, 2022
The Bay Area native, who was 4-for-46 in the month of May prior to Tuesday's game, also had an RBI hit in the ninth to help push the Giants past the Mets.
Tonight Joc Pederson of the @SFGiants:
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) May 25, 2022
-hit 3 HR
-had 8 RBI
-had a game-tying RBI in both the 8th & 9th innings
Since RBI became an official stat in 1920, only one other MLB player has accomplished all 3 of those single-game feats in his entire career: Joe DiMaggio.
The Giants close out the series against the Mets on Wednesday.
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