Santiago Homers in Final At-Bat; Streak Reaches 31

Benito Santiago extended his hitting streak to 31 games with a two-run homer in his final at-bat Tuesday night, but the National League West-champion San Francisco Giants held on to defeat the San Diego Padres, 5-3.

Santiago’s streak, the second longest in the majors this year and the longest ever by a rookie, was in jeopardy until the eighth inning when he drove Scott Garrelts’ first pitch into the left-field seats after Shane Mack had walked.

Santiago had also swung at the first pitch in his three previous at-bats, grounding out to short twice and flying out to deep center.