Tony Vitello, Bryce Eldridge, Giants detail 11-10 walk-off win against Nationals

Giants' Tony Vitello, Bryce Eldridge, Robbie Ray and Matt Chapman speak to reporters after the team's 11-10 walk-off win vs. the Washington Nationals.

Tony Vitello, Bryce Eldridge, Giants detail 11-10 walk-off win against Nationals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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Tony, I mean, to, to be down for eight runs and to come back in the way you did and for Bryce to have that moment, just how do you even summarize the, the last two innings of this one?

Yeah, I don't, I don't think you can, other than, Chappy stated it, as soon as he hit his first home run, stranger things have happened, and it's true in this game and, in general, but you could also look at this year and I don't, I don't think we've, we've had that on the flip side, but we've, we've had a lot.

So, they're a good team.

They're gonna win a lot of games, so you don't mind feeling good about the, the roles being reversed a little bit there from a couple of the losses we've had against them.

But that was, that was as dramatic as it gets, and it was fun, the crowd staying in the game the whole time, and, whatever little reset button our, our, position players hit when there was some frustration with what was going on on the mound was, was perfect.

I hope we can carry that over.

And kind of pointing to that reset button, you guys were, you know, only had one run for most of this game.

Just what maybe flipped for you guys beginning in that eighth inning?

Well, I mean, again, I think y- you, your mindset kind of changes whether it's appropriate or not with the scoreboard and, you know, sometimes you get, e- especially if you're up big, you get really relaxed like we did in Chicago, and the leg lifts start getting a little bigger and a little slower and, and you get really comfortable swings in that case.

and then sometimes you, you, if you're on the opposite end of that score, maybe a little, little bit a- effort gets, gets into your head and you, you kind of cut it loose.

but I don't know.

I'm, I'm judging it off some of the guys' reaction in the dugout.

They were frustrated, and they turned it into determination is, is my best theory.

Those guys can answer more directly.

But, again, whatever that little f- formula was there, it's not easy to repeat as many runs as we put up in two innings.

but it, it cer- there's certainly something there to look at.

And then G- Griffin's really good.

What do you think it says about Bryce that he was able to kind of rise to the moment and come through in a spot like that?

Yeah, it's interesting.

you know, it was a l- very lengthy conversation, where to put him in the lineup today, and, I don't know if there is a perfect spot because I don't think there's a, a perfect spot for a guy that's got power but also is one of our best guys at getting on base.

but it kind of landed on the sweet spot, today w- with that situation.

but the other conversations that have come up with him was with a prospect earlier today and just kind of talking about, you know, baseball's baseball, and as you climb up levels, to, to the younger kid, if, if you can, you know, remain calm, and watch Bryce today, and even though he's seen a real tough lefty, I bet you kind of see that calm.

you know, so that's a big thing.

And Buster talked about how usually for a hitter, you know, Jonah and Barracoa and these guys are going through it, when you first get called up, it's kind of, you kind of get a little shell-shocked with everything that's coming at you, including the good stuff.

And then my last bullet would be kind of from my dad.

I know the other day he, he's got no filter.

I, I usually kind of piddle around questions, and he went right up to Bryce and asked if he thought he belonged here, and you guys know what Bryce's answer was.

Tony, could, could this be, like, the, the start of the Eldridge era?

I mean, he's been hitting a lot lately, and do you see him becoming the face of this franchise at, at some point?

Certainly, he wants that.

Y- yeah, no, I think he's built for that.

I, I think, I got here a year too late.

I think, and I'm not saying this abrasively, I think y'all have already kind of, kind of run with that a little bit, and I think part of the reason you guys are capable of doing that is, again, the personality.

you know, he's so good in all areas around the locker room, clubhouse with you guys.

I'm sure it carries over.

and then coachability is off the charts.

and then everybody loves power.

It's, it's one of the hardest things to find.

I mean, left-handed pitching, catching, and maybe power.

I'm just going off the cuff.

I know everyone likes shortstops, but those are probably three of the toughest things to find at this level, and he has that, so makes it fun to watch him.

But now it's kind of taken on an element that maybe, I'm stealing your guys' words, some of y'all didn't see coming, is a complete hitter.

so yeah, I'm not one to put too much pressure on a guy, but I, I think you guys have been super blessed with guys like Will Clark and Brandon Belt and guys in his mold, and I, I think he fits that mold.

Tony, from, from your perspective in the dugout, did, did you think that ball was getting out?

And then- When you see it go out, you guys have had so much anguish in late game situations this year.

how did that feel just to get that off your shoulders?

Yeah, it was kind of astonishment a little bit.

you know, when he hit it, thought it was out.

you know, it's Bryce.

If he gets, gets it in the air, but then it hung so much and then looked at, you know, the right fielder.

I think Cruz was still out there, and he kind of pulled up, but then all of a sudden he looked up, so it was kind of thought it's getting out, uh-oh, and then, you know, that, that, that feeling there is gonna be tough to replicate.

And more than anything, from that point on, all the players rush past you where you're standing, and they deserve that joy.

I, I know it's not been perfect.

I know there's mistakes all of us have made together, but, I think that's a very well-earned feeling that those guys got in there, so.

And, you know, I, I will say this ironically, Shane Robinson's coaching first base as we wait here, and he felt like as the at bat was going, a little bit of a breeze picked up, and, for those of you that were on the road trip, you know, he absolutely hammered one to left field, and, and that flag had changed literally just for that at bat.

So, but I, I'm gonna, I'm gonna say the wind wasn't involved and say one of the strongest guys in the league muscled it out of there.Rewinding a bit, no walks for Robbie today.

Do you feel like he's unlocked anything mechanically there?

y- normally if it wasn't him, but you guys know who he is.

I mean, he's the ultimate pro.

he's so easy to be around, 'cause again, I, like I said, I feel like I do have a filter.

As a coach, there's certain things you maybe tiptoe around a player.

But you don't have to say, you, you don't have to sugarcoat anything to him.

You just say what it is.

And, and I'm just speaking to, like, how much savvy he has and how much n- you know, know all, especially self-awareness he does.

So I, I think he kinda knows what he's doing out there, and everything's not gonna be perfect and, straight on the train tracks every time going out there for him.

but he would be able to speak better.

Th- those guys are aggressive, but it did look like he was on, ambitious about attacking and getting deeper into the game, which he got.

And who knows?

We leave him out there for another hitter, maybe he completes that inning.

but he got us where we wanted to be today, 'cause the bullpen was pretty short.

you know, wish we could've kept some runs off the board for him.

Tony, at one point, what point, did the guys sense that there really was a real chance to come back, and when was that?

I, I feel like when Rafi hit his, you know, guys started to say some things that usually goofy Hunter Pence would say.

so I, I think that did a lot for us.

again, Chappy in Chicago, you could see him elevate the vibe with kinda, you know, I wanna say coming out of his shell.

That's drastic, but, but showing what he's capable of doing.

He'd kinda been held down a little bit more on the offensive end.

And then, he probably didn't want me to say it, but as a fact, like, there's a gravitational pull to Rafi.

You can ask any of his t- old teammates or current teammates, and, everybody wants him to do well.

And, and when he did that, it's, it was kinda like, "Why can't we just keep pushing forward?"

Okay.

And then the, you know, the, I don't mean to cut you off, but, two unheralded stars for me, 'cause sometimes you go back there and it's like, man, you know, Susak's pick or a challenge, Susak had the other day got overlooked.

Like, you like love seeing Willi play out there, but Casey did a good job.

And then Raver kinda saved the day.

Again, we were thin, and he just got here this morning, and the plan was for him, him to throw one inning, and I, I thought Raver was phenomenal for us.

So I'd regret it if I didn't mention it.

Thanks for the extra 30 seconds.

I don't know.

I was just screaming.

It was, like, the only thing I could think about the last two days was Monday and how I just wasn't pleased with how I ended the game and struck out to end the game.

And, like, I was talking with a lot of people about that.

I was like, "I want that opportunity back.

I don't know if I'm gonna get that opportunity again for a while."

But two days later, like, I got the same opportunity, and the whole entire time I was just envisioning, like, what I was gonna do, even in the eighth inning.

We'd kind of batted around a little bit.

I knew I was gonna get another chance, and I was doing the math in my head of, like, there's gonna be three guys on by the time I get up.

I'm gonna have a chance to end the game.

So it was cool how it all played out.

Are you thinking homerun?

Yeah.

Honestly, like, I was trying to envision it.

Like, I, I wanted, like, I always wanna be that guy in that situation.

And like I said, like, the other night really frustrated me, and I was talking with Alex about it.

Like, it was a good learning opportunity, and, like, I didn't think it was gonna happen again two days later.

But, like, I got to learn from it, and, got my pitch, and glad it, it went out, snuck out.

Right, so isn't that ball's hanging in, 45, hanging, it, appeared for a long time.

Yeah, I don't know.

I mean, I kinda figured, like, with the launch angle, that it was either gonna get caught or go over.

Like, I don't think it was gonna be able to come down and hit the wall, 'cause I hit it so high.

It was kinda coming straight down.

So I'm kinda there just walking, watching it, hoping it's gonna go out, and, I'm just glad it did.

And then I barely remember what happened after that.

So it was the same pitcher to start that inning, face, like, Omni with you doing the bat deal, and that's the same guy, so.

Yes.

Yeah.

I mean, I'm down in the cage, like, seeing the trajectory, doing everything, kinda preparing.

And me and Hunter are talking about it, you know, he's like, "Stay locked in."

And he said that before my second-to-last at bat when I walked.

the first three at bats, I wasn't happy with.

Obviously, Griffin's a good pitcher, but, you know, he's, he's coming in there, "Stay locked in.

You're gonna have a big one.

You're gonna have a big one."

And you know, it, that helped.

Like, hearing that from them helped, and I saw Varland go in, and, he was like, "All right, you're gonna get an opportunity."

And then things changed, and just glad I stuck to the plan this time.

Chris has talked about how important it is at some point in the business, franchise wanting to have that.

Yeah.

Like, just- This time.

Hope the Cavs lose this.

That's everything.

this is, that's the moment you drive to get.

like, I, I've always, I, I think about it every day that I'm just gonna keep working hard, 'cause I wanna be the Rays' franchise, and that's something that motivates me every day.

And, like that lesson, and like I said, like, I wanted to be in that, I wanna be that guy.

So having my first kinda big moment like that, is very special.

I, I'm- What, would you say, a natural performer?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, at this level it's obviously a little bit different.

Like, it's a lot cooler than, like, hitting a walk-off and sack on, like, a day game on a Wednesday or whatever my last walk-off homer was.

But, it was cool.

Like, yeah, I guess that feels natural, just 'cause I envision those moments all the time.So when you see this thing happen and you figure amount-- all the hard work down the spot paid off for you when you have a moment like this?

Yeah, 100%.

I haven't even really had to like sit back and think about that, but, you know, even like yesterday, like I Obviously we didn't get the win, but it's like every single day I feel like that work's paying off and I'm getting better every day.

So, yeah, but having a moment like that is, is special.

Let's see if you can keep an open secret, you won the Shibe's Cradle.

So what do you think when you hear that your youngest ever hit a walk-off grand slam in baseball history?

Is that real?

Whoa.

Yeah, I mean, that's, that's the first I heard about that, obviously, but I'm trying to wipe my smile off my face to stay professional.

man, that's cool.

Yeah, I mean, that's like what I worked for my whole life.

So, that's like something I've always strived to be is like be great at this game and, that's really cool.

Like, I mean, obviously, yeah, I've dreamed and prayed about that, like, life just being great at this game, and I've never seen like a life outside of baseball.

Even from when I was nine years old, I never envisioned myself like in an office or like doing anything other than like playing in the MLB.

It's just cool that I'm here and had like moments like this.

Will the day off tomorrow gonna be able to savor this one?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I don't know.

It'll probably be hard to go to sleep tonight, but, yeah, I think it'll be cool.

That was a nice one to kinda have a day to like rest on that and, get ready for the next series and build off.

So you were, you were a two-way player, coming up and, and you said, you know, a nine-year-old, you never, you know, looked at this, never envisioned whatever, but did you see yourself doing this as a hitter or a pitcher?

No-hitter or a perfect game or a walk-off grand slam?

Honestly, I'd say I always envisioned myself being a hitter.

I think it was honestly, like growing up, I didn't It's like I, I loved hitting more when I was growing up and, that was always what I wanted to do.

I wanted to have the big home run.

Like, I think that was something that I thought about more than like having the big strikeout.

Yeah.

So yeah.

I mean, you're just making me like look back on all the times like I was sitting at the park and at home in DC or Baltimore, wherever we were, and like thinking about how bad I wanted to do what they were doing.

So, and like have that big hit and that home run, so it was pretty cool.

Saturday, the bat flip .

Yeah, I think I chucked it pretty high .

I don't know.

I mean, I feel like you got to in a moment like that, but maybe a little excessive, but the emotions were definitely running high.

So, if I offended anyone, I, I guess I'm sorry, but I mean, I, I don't know.

I think that was pretty freaking cool.

From the evolution of Bryce, he's been up here a bit.

What, what does he need to do to get to the next level?

Yeah, I mean, you know, he's, he's grinding out good at bats.

He's not just up there swinging, taking walks.

He's going the other way and then, you know, as you saw with that last swing, still able to pull it with power, so it's really, you know, it's really fun to watch.

What can you say about his future, 21-year-old kid?

Yeah, he's the brightest.

Great.

Yeah, I mean, I felt good.

I- it was one of those games where it felt like the box score didn't really, you know, tell the whole story.

I felt really good coming into the game.

I felt like I was in my spots all game.

You know, it's just that last inning, just some good plates that found guy.

Yeah.

No, it's, again, this just been a habit.

It's been a choice that we've got a habit.

It's just frustrating.

Did you find any better tape yet?

Is this a different person?

Well, you know what?

It's, it's just kind of been a constant just trying to find like a good groove to the upper.

What's that feeling like though when you guys are down nine-one, you know, after seven innings, when you guys have a nine, after turning up the sixes?

Yeah, I mean, it's, the-- to be able to come back from a nine-one deficit, and end it the way it did, it's a, it's a great feeling for sure.

Yeah.

I mean, it's hard, hard to figure out what to say after the game.

It's just, it was, unbelievable, to be able to, you know, we had two hard, hard losses the last two days.

and we've been on, you know, 13 straight grinding and then, could have easily been down nine or nine or 10 to one and rolled over, and we didn't, and we kept battling.

So, I mean, that was just a lot of fun, kind of a good way to, good way to end it.

And that-- Bryce talks a lot about greatness.

He even just said with us he wants to be the face of the franchise, wants to be the guy in that moment.

What do you think of what's ahead of him when you see moments like that?

I mean, he's just super impressed, with the way that he carries himself and his confidence.

But, it's, you know, it's not like an arrogance.

It's just he's, you know, he's confident.

He believes in himself.

and to see just kinda his growth over this season has been really impressive.

I think it's been, I mean, exceeded all expectations probably just with how good his at bats have been just every day and how consistent he is.

And, you know, two nights ago, he strikes out to end the game, and he's a little bummed out, and he's sitting in his chair, and we're talking a little bit after the game and just talking about I was gonna get so many more opportunities like this and, you know, to just keep, keep going and be ready, be ready for the next opportunity.

And then sure enough, he comes up today and hits a walk-off grand slam.

So, just for him to be in those moments, and you can tell that he wants to, you know, he wants to be up there and wants to be the guy to do it.

And I think it's just, it's super impressive and, just excited to, you know, see what the future holds for him.

Can you, can you grasp that he's just 21?

I mean, he came out of high school, you went through college, had a great career so far, but not at 21.

Yeah.

He's- He makes, he makes me feel old.

and also, you know, when I was his age, I, I wasn't ready, probably wasn't ready to take the kind of at bats that he was taking, you know?

but everybody obviously takes, takes their own path.

But it's, it's really cool to see, just his maturity and his ability to make adjustments and not, you know, like let, let a bad at bat today affect him and, you know, flush it and come back the next at bat ready to, you know, come up big for the team.

So, really, really, you know, happy for him and, you know, proud to see, you know, how hard he works and it's paying off.

Speaking of you first, man, it seems like there's a weight been lifted off your shoulders the last You, I guess, two home runs today.

You've never hitting the ball well this last week.

Yeah, I mean, I, I don't know a- about weight lift off my shoulder, but, feels good to You know, I, I understand how long the season is and, you know, what, what I'm capable of doing.

and, you know, had a, had a little bit of a rough stretch there, but, you know, didn't let it get me too down.

Just kept working and, found a rhythm right now and feel really good.

And I'm just, glad that, you know, like on a day like today, I'm able to come up big for the guys and, you know, really contribute and help us win the game.

Let's go straight to the yard, to Oracle Park.

Bryce Elgers with his first career walk-off, first career Major League Baseball grand slam.

Bryce, congratulations.

What a win for you guys.

And for you rounding those bases, what did it feel like hitting your first grand slam at the Major League level?

Oh, it was amazing.

I just wanna give all glory to God, 'cause the other night I was very frustrated.

I got a similar at bat in the first game of the series, big time, and I didn't come through.

And I've been sleeping on it, and, it's just funny how that works.

I get another opportunity and I pull through.

Sorry, I'm out of breath still.

All right, Bry- Bryce, we'll let you catch your breath a little bit.

I'll try to make this question extra long.

no, we were, we were thinking there in the ninth inning, I mean, I By the way, that's your guys' first win after being down after the sixth inning all season long.

So of course we all saw that coming.

But Jung-hoo Lee gets on in front of you.

You have an opportunity to obviously win the game.

Take us through that at bat, please.

I wanna know what you're sitting on.

You, you had a pinch hit at bat against him earlier in the series, and you got a knock.

What are you looking for there?

Are you just looking for a pitch up to drive, or like what is your mindset going into that at bat?

Yeah, I'm looking for a pitch to drive.

being on the on deck circle, I think the only thing I was envisioning was Jung-hoo getting on base and me ending the game, and, I think the mind's a powerful tool, and I saw it before it happened, so that was pretty cool.

But yeah, I was just looking for a pitch to drive and I got one hanging and I'm, I'm, I'm glad I, I did what I'm supposed to do with that pitch.

Well, hey, Bryce, it's a 2-0 count.

Are you still sitting off speed there?

Are you just sitting for something up in the zone?

Because you took a pretty good swing at that.

Yeah, I mean, I think I'm always ready for something hard, but we know he likes going to his slider, so, it's always in the back of your head and I saw the thing pop and just tried to get a good swing off on it.

Bryce, who got that clubhouse going?

You guys are down nine to one.

You lost the first two games of the series.

You're looking at a sweep here, 12 outs away from a sweep.

Who got these going there?

We know Chatman with the two big flies there, 'cause he's been scorching hot.

But who said something to the clubhouse to kinda keep you guys fighting in this game against the Nats?

It's all, it's Chatman.

Chatman's been such a great leader.

He's been awesome to me, picking me up when things aren't going well for me.

very grateful for him, but he had a whole lot of faith we were gonna win that game.

And last night after the game, after the loss, we were sitting in the cages and he said he's gonna hit three home runs today.

He hit two, so he was close, but, no, he's a stud and he's been a great leader for us.

And, I think no matter what the situation is, we always got faith we can win the game.

How about three between the two you guys?

Right.

That works as well.

where's Willie with the Powerade?

My gosh, he took a day off today.

Did he take a day off from the cooler too?

I got two baths already, so I think all the- the cooler water might be out already.

It's gone.

But, it was really cold, so I'm honestly glad I'm not getting another one.

All right.

Well, get- Well, get in there and celebrate yeah, get indoors, get warm, get a blanket.

Do what you gotta do.

Bryce, congratulations on a first of many epic home runs at Oracle Park.

We hope to see from you coming soon, man.

Congratulations.

What a win for you guys.

Thank you so much.

Go Giants.

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