Giants rookie Tomlinson: Hitting grand slam was 'kind of surreal'

Playing in the 20th game of his rookie campaign with the injury-ravaged San Francisco Giants on Thursday, second baseman Kelby Tomlinson took Chicago Cubs reliever James Russell yard in the eighth inning.

It was Tomlinson's first career home run, and it came with the bases loaded.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

"It's kind of surreal to actually do it," the 25-year-old, all smiles, said of his grand slam after the Giants' 9-1 win.

Tomlinson is filling in for Joe Panik, who is on the disabled list with back inflammation.

Tomlinson is following in the footsteps of a number of current, homegrown Giants players to contribute immediately, including Panik, All-Stars Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford, and NL Rookie of the Year candidate Matt Duffy.

"The Giants are not going to bring you up to get experience," Tomlinson said. "They’ll bring you up when you’re ready for it."

Despite seven members of their 40-man roster currently sitting on the DL, San Francisco still sits just 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.