LOS ANGELES — On Saturday night, Bryce Eldridge picked up his first MLB hit by smoking a fastball from former All-Star Tyler Glasnow off the wall in left field. The milestone came at Dodger Stadium in front of a sellout crowd, and it cleared the bases.
Bryce Eldridge’s first MLB hit 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wLprJqHUER
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) September 21, 2025
It was a big moment. It was not, however, enough to make him the star of the family group chat.
Eldridge’s mom, Beth, was at Dodger Stadium with her twin sister and other son to watch as the 20-year-old made his fourth start in the big leagues. In the top of the fifth, with Eldridge on deck, Beth caught a foul ball that Matt Chapman hit behind the first base dugout.
“She said someone was trying to wrestle her for it and she kind of whacked their hand out of the way,” the rookie first baseman said, smiling. “She’s feisty. She gets what she wants.”
Eldridge’s family members stood and cheered wildly after his three-run double in the first, which got him on the board in the big leagues. They did it again after Beth wrestled away that foul ball.
On the rest of this night, there wasn’t much for anyone affiliated with the Giants to celebrate.
The lineup let Glasnow off the hook after the Eldridge double, scoring once more in the inning but failing to take advantage of his rising pitch count. He ended up going five, and the Dodgers clawed their way back and then took the lead with four homers, ultimately winning 7-5.
This has become the norm for the Giants, who never imagined their bullpen looking like this. They can’t hold late leads. They also can’t hold big early leads. For the third time in eight days, the lineup scored four early runs but then shut it down. The Giants have lost all three games.
This defeat was their seventh in eight games since they briefly moved into a tie for the National League’s third Wild Card spot. They can be eliminated from the postseason as soon as Monday, which would make the final week at Oracle Park 100 percent about looking toward the future.
Eldridge will be a huge part of it, and he should make his debut at first base in the coming days. As a DH, he has shown the power that made him one of the game’s top prospects shortly after the Giants took him in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft.
While Michael Conforto bungled his route in left, the ball was hit hard enough the other way that it would have been a homer in eight ballparks. At Chase Field earlier this week, Eldridge hit two similar balls. He also lined out to deep right on Thursday.
That first homer is only a matter of time, and Eldridge is hopeful he gets it Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
“This is one of the places I grew up dreaming of playing in,” he said. “In this environment and this time of year. It’s pretty cool.”
Eldridge felt some nerves last Monday at Chase Field. In the three starts since, there has been nothing but a drive to contribute. He excelled with runners in scoring position in the minors and picked up his first three RBI on Saturday.
“I think I hit my best when there’s people in scoring position,” he said. “I was just confident in that moment that I was going to score a run and I’m just glad I got the job done. That’s what we’re here to do.”
The milestone came on his mom and aunt Alison’s birthday. It was a night the family will never forget, for a lot of reasons.
“I wouldn’t want it any other way than in a big spot here off a guy who has had a lot of success in this league, on my mom and my aunt’s birthday,” Eldridge said. “It was pretty cool.”
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