Dickerson marks Giants debut with grand slam

PHOENIX -- Alex Dickerson woke up at a Las Vegas hotel at 9 a.m. PT Friday morning to the call every Minor League player wants to hear -- the news of a promotion.

A little more than 10 hours later, Dickerson belted a 458-foot grand slam, the longest homer hit by a Giants player this season. And by the time the night was over, he had collected a career-high six RBIs in a huge 3-for-5 showing that powered an 11-5 win over the D-backs at Chase Field.

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“You can’t have a better debut than that, I don’t think,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said.

It was easily one of the best in Giants history. Dickerson became only the third player to hit a grand slam in his San Francisco debut, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, joining Bobby Bonds (June 25, 1968, vs. the Dodgers) and Brandon Crawford (May 27, 2011, vs. the Brewers).

Dickerson, who was a double shy of the cycle, was also the first player with eight total bases in his Giants debut since Mark Lewis collected nine on April 13, 1997, vs. the Mets, per STATS LLC.

“It’s a long day,” Dickerson said. “I got more sleep for this one than on any of my callups back when I was a rookie. So, I felt pretty good the entire day, well-rested overall. Just added a little travel to it, and just tried to play a baseball game.”

While Dickerson’s eventful day came just more than a month since his last big league game, the 29-year-old outfielder has had an interesting career path, one that was uncertain at times before it brought him to San Francisco earlier this month.

Dickerson was in his sixth year in the Padres’ organization when they traded him to the Giants on June 10. However, he missed all of 2017 with back issues and all of ‘18 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He played only 107 big league games while with the Padres, 84 of which came in '16.

This year, Dickerson played 12 games for San Diego in May. He joined Triple-A Sacramento when he was dealt to San Francisco and played six games there, including one Thursday in Las Vegas, before Steven Duggar’s trip to the injured list caused the Giants to need an outfielder.

“It’s been a long road back to playing baseball, and this year, I’ve just been trying to have fun with it,” Dickerson said. “The game seems to change a lot in that amount of time, and I was just happy to have a jersey on my back and get back to competing and getting back to the everyday grind.”

Dickerson was having plenty of fun as he trotted around the bases following his grand slam, flashing a wide grin as he high-fived third-base coach Ron Wotus. He cracked another smile as he met his Giants teammates at home plate having just given them a 6-0 lead in the third inning.

“It was a good feeling,” Dickerson said. “I don’t think I barreled a ball the entire time I was [with the Padres] last month. It was good to come back, get guys on base and just get a good pitch to hit and try to grab it.”

It was Dickerson’s second career grand slam and his first big league home run since Sept. 22, 2016, in a game against the Giants. The San Francisco starter that day was Jeff Samardzija, who was also on the mound Friday.

This time, Dickerson made Samardzija a winner, as the right-hander allowed five runs in six innings. In addition to his slam, Dickerson singled in his first Giants at-bat in the second and hit a two-run triple in the seventh. He was the first San Francisco player with three or more hits in a game including a homer and triple since Matt Duffy on June 28, 2015.

While meeting with the media after the game, Dickerson immediately gave credit to veteran outfielder Kevin Pillar, who batted in the No. 6 spot just ahead of him and had a big game of his own, going 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs and three runs scored.

“The guy always had the pitchers on the ropes, and I just told myself, ‘Hey, time to do damage,’” Dickerson said.

Dickerson hasn’t had sustained success in his brief big league career. However, he could become an example of a late-blooming player that only needed a fresh start and an opportunity.

Dickerson batted .342/.444/.541 in 32 Triple-A games this season, although many of his at-bats came while playing for El Paso in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. But could it have been a confidence boost? According to Dickerson, that’s never been an issue, and it won’t be during this stint with the Giants, either.

“My confidence has always been there,” Dickerson said. “Even though I had been not playing for two years, I still felt like with a bat in my hand, I can still make a difference. It feels good to get that one out of the way, but there’s tomorrow, there’s the next day. The season goes a long time, it’s just one game at this point.”