Darin Ruf finally got one, and it couldn't have come in a bigger moment.
After the Los Angeles Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning of Game 5 of the National League Division Series at Oracle Park on Thursday night, the Giants badly needed a response.
And Ruf provided an immediate one.
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SIGN UP HERE In a 3-2 count, Ruf smashed a 94 mph fastball from Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias and clobbered for a 452-foot home run to dead center to lead off the inning and tie the game. It was an absolute no-doubter.
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Ruf was due, as they say. He went hitless in his first two at-bats on the night as a result of some bad luck. One flyout went 377 feet with an expected batting average (xBA) of .530, and another went one foot further with an xBA of .500.
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He'll take the game-tying homer, though, which was the first one in a sudden death postseason game in Giants history.