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Alex Dickerson’s wild Giants ride adds weirdest chapter yet

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Somehow, the fifth day of Dickerson may have been craziest of all.

The newest Giant, whose legend is growing by the day, added a strange chapter to his story Tuesday, when he reached base in three of four plate appearances, scored a run from the cleanup spot yet also nearly became Madison Bumgarner’s downfall.

Alex Dickerson, now 8-for-18 in his stint with the Giants following a Padres DFA, showed no signs of stopping offensively — literally. His fifth-inning double in the 4-2 win over Colorado at Oracle Park was a highlight these Giants rarely produce, outhustling the Rockies outfield and turning a gap single into a double. He wouldn’t come around to score, but these kinds of plays “can be contagious,” Bruce Bochy said.

David Dahl was lax in getting to the ball, and Dickerson, not the fleetest of foot, essentially swiped the bag.

“Two outs, anything in the gap, anytime outfielders running left or right, I try to take a chance right there,” said the 29-year-old, getting his first extensive time since 2016 after injuries wiped out his ’17 and ’18. “Especially being on the other side of that, it’s not an easy pickup and throw, even for the guys that are extremely gifted and got really strong, accurate arms.”

In the field, it was not Dickerson’s arm that failed him but his eyes. With a runner on second and two outs in the sixth in a 3-1 game, Dahl hit a flyball Dickerson’s way, though he was the last to discover that. He froze, his eyes scanning the sky for sign of where the ball went.

Brandon Crawford ran over, as did Kevin Pillar, whose dive was a couple feet short. A run scored, though Bumgarner did not let any more trickle through.

“Not in the lights. Once it gets above the stadium, it went up there and I did not see it at all,” said Dickerson, playing his second game as a Giant at Oracle Park. “It’s a very lonely feeling. I could have done a better job of looking at Craw and Pillar, they hustled real hard. I think if I would’ve looked down earlier, I think I could’ve pinpointed where exactly it went. My initial read, I thought it might have gone even a step on my right and it ended up being quite a bit to my left.

“… Sucks, especially with a guy on base. That’s a tough one.”

If Dickerson is going to do everything for the Giants — steal a base, as he did Monday, virtually steal a base, as he did Tuesday, homer, as he did Friday, and now will bring a .444 average with the Giants into Wednesday — the follies are included, too.

It’s been a whirlwind for the abruptly integral Giant, who debuted with his new team Friday.

“Two weeks ago I was on my couch waiting to see if anybody wanted to grab me while I was on designation,” said Dickerson, who had not fared well in limited time with the Padres, though he hammered Triple-A pitching. “A week ago I was in Sacramento. Right when I thought my swing was gonna come around, I got the opportunity to come here and it’s playing out well. Just trying to have fun with it.”