Szczur’s 4th hit sends Padres past Giants 12-9 in 11 innings
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — After striking out in a swing at history during the ninth inning, Matt Szczur took a simpler approach in the 11th. Szczur blooped a tiebreaking single for his fourth hit of the game after coming off the bench, and the San Diego Padres outlasted the San Francisco Giants 12-9 on Friday night.
Szczur entered as part of a double switch in the fourth and set a career high for hits. He finished a home run shy of becoming the first player since at least 1913 to hit for the cycle after not starting the game.
“In the ninth, I was (going for it), for sure,” Szczur said. “But in the 11th, I was just trying to get on base and make things happen.”
The Padres blew a threerun lead with two outs in the ninth when Giants pinch-hitter Conor Gillaspie homered off closer Brandon Maurer, but San Diego won in extra innings after scoring off George Kontos (0-4).
Hunter Renfroe singled leading off the 11th. Erick Aybar walked and, after both runners moved up on a sacrifice, Szczur dumped a 3-1 pitch into left field. Jose Pirela and Carlos Asuaje followed with consecutive RBI singles.
“That was as resilient as we’ve been all year,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “The guys kept fighting, taking good at-bats. It was a fun night.”
Hector Sanchez homered and had three hits against his former team.
Wil Myers hit his 18th home run, Pirela added four hits and two RBIs, and San Diego won for the 16th time in the last 21 games against San Francisco.