Giants Vault: D-backs walk Bonds with bases loaded

MLB.com is digging back into its massive video vault to uncover classic plays that you have loved, forgotten about or, perhaps, are discovering for the very first time. Watch these moments and many, many more on the MLB Vault YouTube page.

May 28, 1998: D-backs walk Bonds with bases loaded
The D-backs were clinging to an 8-6 lead when Barry Bonds walked up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Rather than pitch to Bonds, Arizona manager Buck Showalter ordered an intentional walk of the legendary slugger, forcing in a run and trimming his club’s lead to 8-7. Still, Showalter’s unconventional move paid off, as Brent Mayne subsequently lined out to end the game and seal the Giants’ loss.

''There are only three or four players in this game you'd do it with, and Bonds is one of them,'' Showalter said after the game. ''You try to give your club the best opportunity to win a game; it might not have been good, but it was better than the option we had.''

Oct. 5, 1986: Krukow spins way to 20th victory
Mike Krukow is perhaps best known for his work in the broadcasting booth, but he also enjoyed a distinguished 14-year career on the mound, including a 20-win campaign for the Giants in 1986. Krukow, who was acquired in a five-player deal that sent Joe Morgan to the Phillies in '82, reached the prestigious 20-victory milestone after tossing 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball to lead San Francisco to an 11-2 win in the club’s regular-season finale at Dodger Stadium. He became the organization's first 20-game winner since left-hander Ron Bryant went 24-12 in '73.

Oct. 17, 1989: World Series earthquake
Thirty-one minutes before the Giants were scheduled to host the A’s in Game 3 of the 1989 World Series, the Loma Prieta earthquake struck, rattling Candlestick Park and the Bay Area at large.

"I don't know if we're on the air or not, and I'm not sure I care at this particular moment, but we are,” Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Michaels famously said once ABC managed to restore its audio feed. “Well folks, that's the greatest open in the history of television. Bar none."

The Battle of the Bay resumed 10 days later, with the A’s ultimately sweeping the Giants to win the World Series.

Aug. 17, 2002: Bonds' broken-bat home run
Eight days after joining the 600 home run club, Barry Bonds followed with one of the more jaw-dropping shots of his legendary career. In the top of the first inning against Marlins rookie Josh Beckett, Bonds drove a pitch over the right-field wall at Pro Player Stadium for his 601st homer. Just another Bonds dinger? Nope, this one shattered the all-time home run leader's bat in two pieces, one of which he passed as he trotted around first base.

Oct. 3, 1982: Morgan beats LA
The Giants entered the final weekend of the regular season mathematically alive for the National League West title, but they were eliminated after dropping the first two games of a three-game series against the Dodgers. The season finale was still meaningful for Los Angeles, which needed a win to tie the first-place Braves atop the division, but San Francisco ended up crushing its rival's postseason hopes with one of the most stinging home runs in franchise history. Hall of Famer Joe Morgan slammed a two-out, three-run homer off Terry Forster in the seventh inning to propel the Giants to a 5-3 win at Candlestick Park and knock the Dodgers out of contention.

Oct. 16, 1962: World Series heartbreak
The Giants fell just short of a World Series title in 1962, but Willie McCovey's series-ending out against the Yankees in Game 7 ranks among the most famous outs in baseball history. San Francisco trailed, 1-0, with runners on second and third and two outs in the bottom of the ninth. It was the ultimate do-or-die moment, and McCovey looked like he might have the championship hit when he scorched a line drive off Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry. Unfortunately for McCovey, the ball went straight to a perfectly positioned Bobby Richardson at second base, bringing the Giants' last-ditch rally to an end.

Sept. 17, 1997: Bonds twirls to punctuate HR
The 1997 NL West race came down to the wire and featured an epic mid-September clash between the Giants and Dodgers at Candlestick Park. The Dodgers took a two-game lead into the series, but the second-place Giants wasted little time asserting themselves as Barry Bonds crushed a two-run, first-inning home run off Chan Ho Park in the opener. Bonds punctuated the blast with a pirouette out of the box, adding spice to the storied rivalry. San Francisco eked out a 2-1 win and then tied the Dodgers atop the division behind Brian Johnson’s game-winning 12th-inning homer the following day. The Giants proceeded to capture the division title by two games.

May 3, 1999: Kent hits for the cycle
Jeff Kent became the 20th player to hit for the cycle in Giants history, going 5-for-5 with five RBIs in a 9-8 loss to the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium. Kent singled in the first inning, homered in the third, tripled in the fifth and doubled in the seventh to become the first Giant to accomplish the feat since Robby Thompson on April 22, 1991, against the Padres.

Oct. 8, 1989: Williams' go-ahead NLCS shot
Matt Williams delivered a pair of go-ahead hits in Game 4 of the 1989 National League Championship Series against the Cubs, including a decisive two-run home run off Steve Wilson in the bottom of the fifth inning at Candlestick Park. Williams ended an epic 12-pitch at-bat by blasting a fastball out to left field for a tiebreaking shot that carried the Giants to a 6-4 win and put them on the brink of their first World Series appearance since 1962.

May 2, 1995: Thompson ties it up in the 15th
This classic tussle between the Giants and Dodgers featured an impressive Major League debut from Hideo Nomo, but San Francisco ended up spoiling the Japanese rookie's effort thanks to extra-inning heroics from second baseman Robby Thompson. The Dodgers scored three runs in the top of the 15th to break a scoreless tie, but Thompson promptly erased the deficit by smashing a game-tying, three-run shot off Greg Hansell with two outs in the bottom half of the inning. Barry Bonds followed with a single and capped the comeback by scoring on Matt Williams' double to lift the Giants to a dramatic 4-3 win in 15 innnings at Candlestick Park.

July 18, 1970: Mays reaches 3,000 hits
Willie Mays became the 10th member of the 3,000-hit club with a single off Expos pitcher Mike Wegener at Candlestick Park. The Say Hey Kid is the only player in MLB history with at least 3,000 hits, a .300 batting average, 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases.