The last time Alex Dickerson stepped on a major league field was Oct. 2, 2016.
Nearly three years later, the 29-year-old returned with a bang Friday in the Giants' 11-5 win over the Diamondbacks in Arizona.
Called up earlier in the day, manager Bruce Bochy wasted no time sticking Dickerson in the lineup, and the veteran outfielder wasted no time making his new manager look smart.
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In the top of the second inning, Dickerson singled to center. An inning later, he came up with the bases loaded and crushed a 458-foot grand slam to give the Giants a 6-0 lead.
"Impressive, wasn't it?" Bochy said to reporters in Arizona after the game. "What a day. What a lift for us coming off some tough games [in Los Angeles]. Looking for offense early, between him and [Kevin] Pillar, what a show those two put on. Grand slam, double off the wall, I mean, he had quite the day, didn't he?"
After the game, Dickerson joined NBC Sports Bay Area's Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow and was asked if he was thinking about what it took to get back to the big leagues as he was rounding the bases on his grand slam.
"Nah, it's one of those things you reflect on once you get back to the dugout," Dickerson said. "The rounding the bases, the adrenaline takes over, you don't really have too many thoughts going through your mind. But that's a lot of hard work over two years to get back to this moment."
San Francisco Giants
Dickerson became the third player in Giants franchise history to hit a grand slam in his team debut, joining Bobby Bonds and Brandon Crawford.
"That's awesome," Dickerson told Kruk and Kuip. "That's great company to be with."
With a single, triple and home run in the bag, Dickerson needed a double in his final at-bat to complete the cycle. But he struck out and had to settle for a 3-for-5 night with six RBI.
Was the idea of getting the cycle in his mind during his last at-bat?
"Yeah, it was in there," Dickerson said. "It was in there. But it was the same approach as always, you're just trying to barrel something anyway."
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After losing three straight games in Los Angeles, the Giants were looking for a spark and they got it from Dickerson.
"You can't have a better debut than that, I don't think," Bochy said.