Scott Hairston Has Impeccable Timing

Apparently Scott Hairston has a flair for the dramatic. With the Padres trailing 3-2 the Pirates in the bottom of the ninth with two on and two outs last night, Hairston proved to be clutch once again. He took an 0-1 slider from Matt Capps and blasted it into the left field stands, sending PETCO Park into a frenzy and setting off a raucous celebration at home plate. The 5-3 win kept the Padres one game back in the NL West and put them two-and-a-half games up in the Wild Card race.

Since coming to the Padres from the Diamondbacks in exchange for a minor league pitcher on July 27, Hairston has five home runs in 44 at-bats and is hitting .364. He’s been clutch before as well. On August 3, he hit a game-tying three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, then won the game with a walk-off in the 10th inning.

Nice pickup Mr. Towers. The kid has been excellent in the field, has good speed and power and has obviously been good in the clutch. Funny thing is, he wouldn’t have even been in the game if Milton Bradley was healthy.