1 of 5 | San Diego Padres outfielder Wil Myers had three hits and five RBIs in a win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday in Pittsburgh. File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI |
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April 13 (UPI) -- Veteran outfielder Wil Myers swung once, but hit the baseball twice to connect for an RBI single during a San Diego Padres win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The strange swing occurred in the first inning of the 6-2 win Monday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
Padres shortstop Jake Cronenworth started the game with a leadoff single. Jurickson Profar then drew a walk from Pirates starter Trevor Cahill. The right-handed pitcher followed with strikeouts of Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer, which prompted Myers to step into the box with two outs.
Myers took a sinker for a ball on the first pitch of the exchange. He then worked a full count against Cahill. The Pirates pitcher tossed in a 90.1-mph cutter for his final offering to Myers.
The Padres right fielder swung through the zone and connected with the high-and-inside pitch with the middle of his bat. The ball then slid down the bat and bounced off the barrel.
The hit sliced through the infield, went between the second baseman and shortstop and rolled to the outfield. Cronenworth scored from third base on the play for a 1-0 lead.
Myers' hit traveled just 70.7 mph off his bat, according to Statcast. The connection registered as one of the slowest hits of the game.
"That was pretty impressive," Myers told reporters. "It had a nice tail to it. I was just trying to stay inside the baseball. That's the only way to get hits, is to stay inside the baseball. Rollovers to the pull side [of the field] are not hits."
The Pirates tied the game with a Phillip Evans RBI double in the bottom of the third inning. Myers then returned to the plate in the top of the sixth inning and hit his third home run of the season.
The 421-foot, two-run homer touched Myers' bat just once. The home run traveled 105 mph and went over the center field fence to give the Padres a 3-1 edge. Victor Caratini plated another run with an RBI double in the same inning for a three-run Padres lead.
Myers later gave the Padres a 6-1 edge with a two-run single in the top of the seventh inning. Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier brought in the final run of the game with an RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Myers is now hitting .350 this season and has six RBIs, in addition to his trio of homers. He went 3 for 5 with five RBIs, a run scored and a strikeout in Monday's win. Cronenworth also had two hits for the Padres.
Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish, who joined the team in an off-season trade, earned his first win of the season. He allowed three hits and one run and had six strikeouts in seven innings.
The Pirates (3-7) host the Padres (8-3) in the second game of the series at 6:35 p.m. EDT Tuesday at PNC Park.
Two runs are scored when the New York Yankees' Rougned Odor makes a throwing error trying to complete a double play against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium in New York City on Friday. The Rays won 8-2. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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