Photo credit: bleacherreport.com

By Jeremy Kahn

With the San Francisco Giants being off on a Friday night, it is a rare sight for the Orange and Black.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, this first time that the Giants have been scheduled for a Friday night since April 9, 2004.

Just one night prior to the last Friday off, the Giants lost to the San Diego Padres 4-3 in 10 innings in the first ever game at Petco Park and the manager for the Padres on that night is current Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

That season, Barry Bonds won his fourth consecutive National League Most Valuable Player and seventh overall.

Bonds won the Batting title that season, as he batted .362, hit 45 home runs and drove in 120 runs. He also walked a major- league record 232 times, including a record 120 times intentionally.

In the Giants home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 12, 2004, Bonds tied his godfather Willie Mays for third place on the all-time home run with 660. The next night, Bonds passed his godfather with home run 661.

Five months later, on September 17, 2004, Bonds became the third player ever to hit 700 home runs, as he hit off of Padres pitcher Jake Peavy in a 4-1 Giants victory at SBC Park.

Pedro Feliz and Marquis Grissom each hit 22 home runs, while Ray Durham hit 17, Michael Tucker hit 13, while J.T. Snow hit 12 and Edgardo Alfonzo and A.J. Pierzynski added 11, as the Giants ended up with a grand total of 183 home runs on the season.

Jason Schmidt led the pitching staff with 18 wins, and current bullpen coach Matt Herges led the team with 23 saves.

The Giants season came to an unfortunate end, when Steve Finley hit a dramatic grand slam off of Wayne Franklin in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers the National League Western Division Championship with a 7-3 victory at Dodger Stadium.

The loss stopped the Giants streak of making the postseason at two, as they made the postseason three times in the first four years after the opening of their sparkling new home, then known as SBC Park. That was the first year that the ballpark at 24 Willie Mays Plaza was known at SBC Park after being named Pacific Bell Park.