Giants outfielder Alex Dickerson has fond memories of his childhood in San Diego, where he grew up rooting for the Padres and even had the opportunity to attend a World Series game against the Yankees at Qualcomm Stadium in 1998.

Still, he also associates his hometown ballpark with one of the most traumatic experiences of his life.

“I'd be lying if I didn't say there wasn't some PTSD as I was spitting into that tube today,” Dickerson said before Monday’s series opener at Petco Park.

When the Giants last visited San Diego in September, Dickerson was administered a COVID-19 test that yielded a positive result, resulting in the postponement of two games and temporarily placing the 30-year-old slugger in isolation. As if that weren’t difficult enough, Dickerson’s wife, Jennifer, was 39 weeks pregnant with the couple’s first child at the time, leading to fears that she would go into labor due to stress.

Their peace of mind was finally restored after Dickerson tested negative in several subsequent tests, suggesting that the scare was caused by a false positive. A little over a week later, the Dickersons welcomed their son, Levi, who is now 6 months old and was expected to be in the stands at Petco Park on Monday night.

“That was a crazy, awful time for me and my family,” Dickerson said. “This year, my wife isn't even allowed in my room for whatever reason. I got one dose of the vaccine now, and I'm really looking forward to getting that second one. Two weeks after that, we get to loosen up restrictions, hopefully. It’s a memory from my past that wasn't that great, but it's kind of funny to talk about now because it was ridiculous. There's a little bit of me walking around these hallways like, ‘I wonder if people are still looking at me as that guy.’”

With left-hander Adrian Morejon on the mound for the Padres, Dickerson wasn’t in the Giants’ starting lineup on Monday, but he said he’d be prepared for a potential pinch-hit appearance late in the game. Dickerson already showed that he can be a dangerous bat off the bench on Thursday, when he delivered a game-tying, pinch-hit home run off Mariners closer Rafael Montero in the top of the ninth inning to force extras on Opening Night at T-Mobile Park.

The Giants ended up falling, 8-7, in 10 innings following a bullpen collapse, but the moment was still special for Dickerson, who also lived in Tacoma, Wash., for two years when his father was stationed at McChord Air Force Base and grew attached to Ken Griffrey Jr. and the 1995 Mariners.

“I actually grew up a big Mariners fan as well,” Dickerson said. “That was a big thing for me, to be able to hit a home run at Safeco Field. It’s something I always wanted to do.

“My dad immediately called and said, ‘Hey, you finally got to hit one in Seattle,’ the place where I started playing baseball.”

Giants claim Bolt

The Giants claimed outfielder Skye Bolt off waivers from the A’s on Monday. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, San Francisco designated right-hander Ashton Goudeau for assignment.

Bolt, 27, is a switch-hitting center fielder who went 1-for-10 with a double in five games with Oakland in 2019. A fourth-round Draft pick of the A’s in 2015, Bolt batted .269 with an .809 OPS and 11 home runs over 89 games with Triple-A Las Vegas in 2019.