Duane Kuiper, Giants-Phillies, and The Last Two Walk-Off Inside-the-Park Three-Run Homers
The San Francisco Giants had a very exciting first half of the 2025 season. (By first half, I mean games before the All-Star break.) Over that stretch, they had twenty-two one-run victories (which was the most in all of baseball). The most exciting ending of those many one-run victories was perhaps the one versus the Philadelphia Phillies on July 8. The Giants were trailing the Phillies 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Patrick Bailey hit this exciting walk-off, inside-the-park three-run home run to win the game. The home run was enthusiastically called by longtime Giants announcer Duane Kuiper (who was battling laryngitis at the time).
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time in nearly thirty-six years that a walk-off, inside-the-park home run was hit for a team that was trailing by multiple runs. Interestingly, the previous such home run was hit by the Phillies in 1989. And crazy enough, it came against the Giants. Bob Dernier hit this home run in the bottom of the twelfth inning to win it for the Phillies. Again, Kuiper was on the call. Understandably, Kuiper was more excited about the second home run.