Kennedy and Gwynn Lead Padres, 5-3

If Dale Murphy doesn’t feel very alive when he gets to the ballpark, he is quickly woken up, courtesy of some mini-cam crew trying to get him live on the 5 o’clock news.

They really have no mercy on him. He had just come out for batting practice before the Padres’ 5-3 victory over the Braves Monday night when some young page, trying to be aggressive so he can move up in the business, grabbed Murphy and told him to run with him to the camera, just so they could make the show. Murphy sprinted, made it in time and then moved on to another interview, one he tried to do with a smile.

Later, finally standing by himself, he said he is no big deal, that it did not matter that he led the National League in eight categories.

“I’ve only played 11 games,” he said.

So then he went out and hit a three-run home run against Andy Hawkins in the first inning, a home run that was a very big deal, considering it hit a piece of concrete between the first and second decks in left field. The fans at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium did nothing, not quite sure whether to boo (he was the enemy) or cheer (the hit was incredible). They were silent.

When Murphy came up to bat in the third, they decided to boo, though, and, miracle of miracles, he struck out on a Hawkins fastball.

Afterward, after the Padres won on a Tony Gwynn RBI single in the seventh, after Hawkins (3-0) and Goose Gossage had retired the last 24 Brave hitters, Murphy said “I told you so.”

“Like I’ve said, we’ve played 12 games now. It’s no big deal.”

So the Padres did accomplish something on Monday night, only that Murphy is human. He’d hit three home runs in a previous series against San Diego this year, and he’s been tamed somewhat.

And the Padres are somewhat confident, completely certain that there’s no lead they can’t overcome.

Murphy’s home run in the first had made it 3-0, but San Diego immediately scored two runs itself, getting a two-run homer from Terry Kennedy, a homer that went very far to right field.

This was Kennedy’s fourth home run of the season, and he hadn’t hit No. 4 last year until May 19.

“That’s probably the hit of the game,” Manager Dick Williams said. “It got us back in.”

Kennedy is a little sick of answering why he’s hitting the ball so well now, so he was little non-attentive in the clubhouse afterward. He heard one question, and said excuse me, running over to tell someone to turn off Michael Jackson, who kept singing that he was in a state of shock.

Kennedy, coming back to his seat then, said he hadn’t even realized that Padre pitchers had retired those 24 straight hitters, changing the subject to pitching. And Hawkins really had settled down after such a shaky start.

“I don’t know,” Hawkins said. “It’s strange. There’s no excuse for not getting up for a game, but I felt draggy.”

But he recovered, and Atlanta’s Zane Smith, in relief of Steve Bedrosian, walked Carmelo Martinez to begin the seventh, and the Padres were off. With runners on first and third with two outs, Gwynn put one between the third baseman and the shortstop.

“There was a big hole there,” Gwynn said. “I was aiming.”

Steve Garvey followed with a single, scoring Kurt Bevacqua. Gossage came in and retired six straight, striking three out on sliders, the last being Murphy of all people.

And whether it’s false modesty or plain modesty, Murphy tends to think he’s normal, saying: “I’ve only had a couple of good years.”

Regardless, his teammates are impressed, namely Chris Chambliss who said Murphy is the best he’s every played with, a list that includes Reggie Jackson and other Yankees.

So the world is Murphy’s stage, and he keeps showing off. On Monday night, the Braves had appeared to end their own rally when Claudell Washington tried scoring from third on a simple ball hit back to the pitcher. He was out.

But Murphy came up and hit one out, a three-run homer against Hawkins, who, for some reason, put a pitch over the plate. The ball flew over the wall in left center, and Murphy ran the bases, the fans running their mouths.

There were murmurs everywhere. How good is this guy? Another Mickey Mantle?

Apparently, Hawkins learned something from that first confrontation, only because Murphy did nothing in his next two at-bats. He struck Murphy out on a breaking ball in the third, and Murphy then bounced back to Hawkins in the sixth.

And Hawkins was either feeling stronger now or making adjustments, because if Murphy wasn’t hitting him, neither were Murphy’s teammates. Four of the first seven Braves batters had base hits, but Hawkins retired the next 18 hitters.

He wasn’t overpowering because only Murphy struck out, but he was mixing his pitches, forcing weak grounders and popups. Once, Washington hit one very hard down the first-base line, but Garvey, supposedly slower these days, dove, stopped it and stepped on first.

Padre Notes

Before Monday’s game, Atlanta’s Dale Murphy led the National League in eight categories -- batting average (.439), home runs (6), RBIs (18), slugging percentage (1.000), runs (13), hits (18), doubles (6) and on-base average (.511). Also, he has now played in his 507th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the majors. . . . Add Murphy: All of his home runs this season have come against right-handed pitchers, which is different because he bats right-handed.