MIAMI — Losers of five straight, held without a hit since the fourth inning, facing a long flight home after, the Giants needed this one.
Nobody understood that better than Michael Conforto, who has frustratingly been forced to watch most of this disastrous road trip from the bench, limited to pinch-hitting duties only as he recovers from calf tightness. A hobbled Conforto delivered perhaps his biggest hit since signing with the Giants, slugging a tie-breaking two-run home run to center field in the 11th inning Wednesday, paving the way to a desperately needed 5-2 win over the Marlins.
Mike Yastrzemski followed a few batters later with another two-run shot, his second in as many games, which proved to be critical insurance runs as Miami rallied for a run and loaded the bases against Sean Hjelle and Taylor Rogers in the bottom of the 11th, eventually getting MLB batting leader Luis Arraez to ground out softly for the final out.
