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SAN DIEGO (AP) -
Brian Giles
has been around too long to let a season-opening slump get him down.
Giles singled in the winning run with two outs in the 11th inning and the
San Diego Padres
beat the
Pittsburgh Pirates
4-3 on Friday night to end a three-game skid.
The Padres were coming off a 4-4 trip to New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco, during which Giles went 6-for-37. He was
hitting .159 overall entering Friday night's game.
''That was really great to see,'' manager
Bud Black
said of Giles' winning hit. ''I think we all know Brian and what he means to our team. For me, it's just a matter of time
before you see a lot of those hits like you saw tonight.''
Chris Burke
started the winning rally by drawing a one-out walk off
Matt Capps
(0-1) and stole second with two outs before
David Eckstein
walked. That brought up Giles, who singled to right field to bring in Burke.
On the road trip, Giles hit three long flyballs that would have been homers had they been fair, then made outs.
''That's just part of the grind of the game and how mental it is,'' he said. ''Fortunately I've been through it and I know
I can still play at this level and be productive. I think it's fun to come here and get ready to play a game every day with
the type of guys we have. When we take the field, everybody believes we're going to win that day.''
Giles, the No. 3 hitter, said the most frustrating thing is that teams are geared up to not let cleanup hitter
Adrian Gonzalez
beat them. Gonzalez did hit a solo homer for San Diego's first run.
''I've had pitches, I just haven't put consistent swings on them,'' Giles said.
Capps said he threw a fastball where he wanted.
''I think if I do it 100 more times, I'm going to be successful 99 of them,'' he said. ''It's hard to throw him something
else when he's not hitting my fastball.''
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Pirates, who had won five of their previous six.
Edwin Moreno
(1-2) allowed one hit in two innings for his first big league win.
Kevin Correia
was trying for his first win with his hometown Padres but couldn't hold a 3-1 lead in the sixth. He walked
Adam LaRoche
leading off the inning and
Eric Hinske
reached on a double when Giles couldn't hang onto his flyball after leaping against the right-field wall.
Cla Meredith
came on and allowed
Brandon Moss
' RBI groundout and
Andy LaRoche
's RBI single to center.
Jason Jaramillo
singled and stole second before
Nyjer Morgan
was intentionally walked to load the bases for
Jack Wilson
, who was hitless in his previous three at-bats. Wilson struck out to end the threat, tossing his bat and helmet in disgust.
Correia allowed three runs and three hits.
Pirates starter
Ian Snell
gave himself a 1-0 lead when he hit an RBI single to center with two outs in the second.
It didn't last long, though, as Gonzalez homered to center on Snell's first pitch in the bottom half for his sixth of the
season.
San Diego added on with four more extra-base hits in the next two innings.
Luis Rodriguez
doubled leading off the third and scored on
David Eckstein
's triple into the left-field corner.
Chase Headley
opened the fourth with a double into the right-field corner and scored on
Nick Hundley
's double to left-center.
Snell allowed three runs and six hits in five innings. He had two hits and made a nifty catch of
Jody Gerut
's line drive to end the fourth with the bases loaded.
Notes: Pirates CF
Nate McLouth
was scratched with an injured right oblique. ... Gonzalez, San Diego's only All-Star last year, took Moss' liner off the heel
of his glove in the 10th. Trainers tended to him for a few minutes, and Black said he should be fine. ... San Diego OF
Cliff Floyd
, who's been on the disabled list since opening day with a strained right shoulder, had an MRI and a shot on Thursday. The
team said it will monitor Floyd for a week. ... San Diego RHP
Cha Seung Baek
, on the DL since just before the season started, threw 45 pitches in a bullpen session and appears close to starting a rehab
assignment.
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