Garvey’s 2 Homers Take the Fight Out of the Braves, 7-3

While tiny raindrops kept falling on their heads, half of the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres met in left field before their game Friday night, to talk about the wives, the kids, the weather, the horrendous shape of the outfield, Pete Rose’s chase of Ty Cobb and the chilly baseball fans of Philly.

“I no mad at you,” Atlanta’s Pascual Perez said to San Diego’s Carmelo Martinez.

So basebrawl is baseball again, and this is fine with the Padres, who’ve just begun to fight in defense of their National League pennant. The Braves came here to open their home season after getting Philadelphia’s fans to boo the Phillies unmercifully, nothing new but interesting in that it came this early in the season.

Meanwhile, the Braves, Our Team (so says Ted Turner and his superduper station, who thinks the team belongs to America), were being hailed as “amazing,” now that Bruce Sutter had saved a game and Dale Murphy had creamed his first homer.

But the Padres ignored such talk, showing Our Team that their offense still exists. Steve Garvey hit two home runs, big Andy Hawkins threw mostly sliders en route to a three-hitter, and Goose Gossage got his first save, each helping San Diego to a 7-3 victory in their own little way.

Still, the significant thing was that nothing happened, absolutely nothing at all. Last Aug. 12 had been that famous Bloody Sunday, the day 14 players were ejected in a beanball war. Perez, Martinez’ buddy, had been one of the instigators that day, and even he had forgotten.

Not that this is surprising, because the teams played six games after Aug. 12 last year and finished without incident. Yet, it is good to know that they’d rather play baseball than fight, something ex-Brave and current Padre Jerry Royster had predicted.

Speaking of Royster, when he first came to the team (after signing as a free agent), his new playing partners kidded him about the fight, asking what the Braves had been thinking at the time, asking who he’d hit and whether it was an uppercut or left hook.

“If he did hit any of us, we planned to get him back,” Tony Gwynn said.

Anyway, Royster had said before Friday’s game: “This is a new year. If anything happens, I know people will relate it to last year, but I don’t think it’ll have stemmed from that. Of course, the fans would love to see it.”

And, naturally, he was right about that one, considering a sign in the stands read: “Remember the Brawl game, Aug. 12. Do it again!”

But, to reiterate, nothing happened. Padre Manager Dick Williams, returning to the scene for the first time since Aug. 12 (he missed three games as he served a suspension), was booed heartily, and poor Galen Cisco, the pitching coach, was booed when he went to talk to Hawkins once, the fans thinking he was Williams.

Mostly, it was a positive night, especially for the Padres, who broke out of their two game regular season slump. Before Friday, 14 of their 15 hits had been singles, but they had six extra base hits against the Braves, getting eight hits off starter Rick Camp in the first four innings.

“This park here always gets people swinging for us,” Williams said afterward.

These were the first home runs for Garvey since his memorable homer in the playoffs, yet these were not frozen in time like that one was, probably because it was muggy here. And they were his first regular season home runs since Aug. 12 of last year.

But there were other batting stars, considering the Padres collected 12 base hits (and everyone got one). Hawkins, the pitcher, had the game-winning RBI, lining a bases-loaded single to center in the second inning. And then there’s the stories of Terry Kennedy and Al Bumbry.

Kennedy, the catcher who’d been cross lately because he couldn’t get base runners to cross the plate, had his first hit of the season, a sharply hit opposite field double down the third base line. Previously, he had stranded three runners on third and one more on second, enough for him to tell the media to go stuff their pencils.

Kennedy, breaking his silence, said: “(Facing righthanders) doesn’t matter. When I’m hitting good, I hit anybody. They had made good pitches before. I’m not worried about it.”

But Al Bumbry had been worried before this game, since it was his first in the National League. He hadn’t played in San Francisco because the Giants had thrown lefthanders, but he would be starting here. So he spent time with first base coach Jack Krol before the game, asking how to play hitters on defense and how certain pitchers threw. He asked Kennedy about pitchers, too. He was seriously concerned.

“It’s nice to know players still care,” Krol said.

And then Bumbry, age 37 and about to turn 38 (on April 21), went out and got two hits, including a two-run double to left off Craig McMurtry in the fifth, a double that put the Padres ahead 3-0.

Dale Murphy broke up Hawkins’ perfect game in the fifth inning then, hitting a double, and he later nailed a home run. Gossage entered for the first time this season in the eighth and gave up three singles and a run, mainly because he rushed too much (Williams and Cisco say). He settled down and pitched a strong ninth, though, and the people here began to think realistically about the Braves’ chances realizing it might be a fight to the finish.

Not a fist fight, mind you.

PADRES AT A GLANCE

Scorecard FIRST INNING PADRES--Kevin McReynolds reached first on a fielder’s choice, went to second when Tim Flannery walked, to third on Bob Horner’s error and scored on Andy Hawkins’ single to center. Padres 1, Braves 0.

THIRD INNING

PADRES--Tony Gwynn doubled, and Steve Garvey had an infield single. Graig Nettles walked to load the bases. McReynolds doubled, scoring Gwynn and Garvey. Padres 3, Braves 0.

FOURTH INNING PADRES--Garvey homered to left. Padres 4, Braves 0.

FIFTH INNING

PADRES--Tim Flannery walked and Garry Templeton singled. Hawkins’ sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, and they scored on Bumbry’s double. Padres 6, Braves 0.

BRAVES--Dale Murphy doubled, went to third on Bob Horner’s ground out and scored on Chris Chambliss’ single. Padres 6, Braves 1.

SIXTH INNING

BRAVES--Murphy homered to right-center. Padres 6, Braves 2.

EIGHTH INNING

PADRES--Garvey homered to left. Padres 7, Braves 2.

BRAVES--Against Goose Gossage, Claudell Washington singled, went to second on Rafael Ramirez’ single and scored on Brad Komminsk’s single. Padres 7, Braves 3.