Bryce Eldridge goes yard in win against Rockies

Eldridge prevented the Giants from getting shut out on Tuesday, taking Grant Anderson deep for a two-run homer in the eighth inning. It was the 11th home run of the season for the 21-year-old slugger. He’s slashing a solid .256/.356/.463 with 33 runs scored and 25 RBI across 264 plate appearances while displaying impressive hard-hit and barrel rates that make him a young power-hitter on the rise.

Eldridge had three of the four hardest-hit balls of the game, coming in at 106.1 mph on his homer in the fourth, 108.5 mph on a lineout in the fifth and 108.1 mph on a single in the eighth. Hopefully, it means he’s escaping the drought that saw him hit .177 with one homer in his previous 17 games. That previous homer also came against Rockies pitching.

If you’re going to have to take a day off on occasion, doing so against Chris Sale isn’t the worst idea in the world. Heliot Ramos will function as the Giants’ designated hitter in his place on Sunday while Victor Bericoto draws a start in right field and will bat eighth for the Giants.

Since delivering his walkoff grand slam against the Nationals on June 10, Eldridge had hit second in 11 of the Giants’ last 12 games and third in the other. He homered again in the first of those games, but in the last 11, he’s hit .179/.319/.282. As a result, he’s back down to sixth today. Casey Schmitt is batting second, and Jung Hoo Lee has been moved up to third. Eldridge should stay in the Giants lineup against righties after Heliot Ramos is activated from the IL, something that’s supposed to happen within the next couple of days, but he’ll probably start doing some sitting against lefties. He could cease being worthy of a roster spot in shallow leagues.

The rest of the Giants combined for one hit in the game. Eldridge’s homer came in the bottom of the ninth with the team down 5-0, but unlike Wednesday’s game against the Nationals, the Giants did not have the Cubs right where they wanted them. Eldridge has five homers in 113 plate appearances since his callup. He might keep up that pace, but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll maintain his current .316 average.

Eldridge also added a walk and a second run scored, homering for the second time in as many days. The 21-year-old first baseman/DH entered this one having hit .447/.512/.737 over his past 43 plate appearances, and Thursday’s performance will only juice those numbers. Eldridge was playing sparingly when he was first recalled from Triple-A, but he’s been in the lineup for 15 of the Giants’ past 16 contests. He’s yet to bat higher than fifth, but manager Tony Vitello will have no choice but to move him up if he continues to slug like this.

Eldridge continues to raise the question as to why the Giants took so long to make him an everyday regular. He reached three times on a hit and two walks on Tuesday before taking Orlando Ribalta deep for a solo homer in the ninth. The home run was his third of the season while hitting an excellent .300/.385/.500 with 15 runs scored and eight RBI across 104 plate appearances. The most encouraging development for the 21-year-old slugger is the 22.1 percent strikeout rate.

Eldridge gets a chance at DH to face Milwaukee lefty Robert Gasser in this one after taking a seat against emerging ace Kyle Harrison earlier in the series. The 21-year-old top prospect has shown some encouraging signs of late, hitting .409 (9-for-22) with one homer and three RBI over his last seven games.

Eldridge went 6-for-11 with a home run during a three-game series against the Rockies over the weekend. The 21-year-old predictably takes a seat against southpaw Kyle Harrison, who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season. He figures to continue playing everyday against right-handed pitching and offers some appeal in deeper mixed leagues based on his immense power production and path to regular at-bats.

It’s kind of remarkable that Eldridge had a game like this with the Giants scoring 19 runs yet only wound up with the one RBI on his homer. However, all four of his hits came leading off an inning after Matt Chapman made an out to end the previous frame. The two times he did come up with men on turned into his outs. It was still a great day for Eldridge, who hit balls 453, 419 and 354 feet at Coors. He matched his previous season totals of one homer and four runs scored from his first 17 games.