Padres win in 11 innings

Friday April 24, 2009

The San Diego Padres defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight with a walk off single to right by Brian Giles in the 11th inning.

Chris Burke walked with one out in the 11th inning and and promptly stole 2nd base. Jody Gerut stuck out for the 2nd out after barely missing a home run to RF, David Ecsktein fought off pitch after pitch to draw a walk off Pirate closer Matt Capps. Giles then lined a shot down the line to RF to drive in Burke for the win.

The Padres scoring for the night was led off by Adrian Gonzalez 6th home run of the season in the bottom of the 1st. Gonzalez is ahead of his home run pace from 2008, a season that saw him hit a career high 36 home runs.

The Padres had a big scare in the top of the 11th when Gonzalez was struck on the hand by a hard hit ball struck by Brandon Moss of the Pirates. After Manager Bud Black and the training staff come out to first check him out, Gonzalez stayed in the game.

The season for the Padres has been marked by a fighting spirit that seemed to be absent in 2008. The Padres have fought from behind to win games and have won several games that were tied or close late in the game.

The Padres are now 10-6 and in 2nd place in the NL West to the red hot LA Dodgers.