Padres Shun Predictability in 12-2 Victory

On Tuesday morning, the morning of his 52nd birthday, Ozzie Virgil sat in a dugout for probably the 1,052nd time, talking baseball, of course.

Next to him was a young player named Jerry Davis, glad to listen to anything Virgil might say, glad to try anything Virgil might suggest.

The conversation turned to hitting, and Virgil pointed out that there should be little waste of motion in a swing. He said Carmelo Martinez, another Padre player, wiggles his bat too much at the plate, perhaps not the brightest thing to do. Davis nodded.

So then the game with the St. Louis Cardinals began, and Martinez wiggled and hit a two-run double in the first inning. In the third, he wiggled again and hit a home run into the left-field sunshine. He led the Padres to a 12-2 victory.

So much for predictability.

And yet this is baseball, a game of absurdities. Virgil, at age 52, knows this, and so does Padre Manager Dick Williams, who also happened to celebrate a birthday (No. 56) Tuesday.

For instance, the Padres had been a struggling unit lately, considering they were in the World Series last season and were expected to win their division again. They have fallen on hard times when it comes to scoring runs, and Williams hadn’t substituted much because of this, content to play his starters every day until they snapped out of it and scored.

But there it was in the seventh inning Tuesday, and Williams had Bobby Brown in center field, Kurt Bevacqua at first base, Mario Ramirez at shortstop and Davis in right field. In the ninth, he moved Bruce Bochy to catcher and Terry Kennedy from catcher to first.

And he was able to play these people because the Padres had unpredictably scored runs. Martinez, who finally abandoned an ace bandage he’d been wearing on his right elbow, was partly responsible for this, but not solely responsible.

Steve Garvey went 4 for 4 and scored three runs. Terry Kennedy’s two singles accounted for four RBIs. Kevin McReynolds delivered a bases-loaded single in the first inning. Garry Templeton had two RBIs on sacrifice fly balls.

So much for predictability.

And there were other strange twists to this game, a game that ended a long Padre trip. For instance, each member of the Cardinal infield made an error, including shortstop Ozzie Smith, who threw a ball much too high for first baseman Jack Clark to handle in the fourth inning.

Clark’s error came in the first inning on a ball hit down the first-base line by Graig Nettles. Runners had been on first and second, and Clark threw to second for a force. But his throw took Smith off the bag, and runners were safe everywhere.

McReynolds followed with his two-run single.

Later, Tom Herr and Terry Pendleton mishandled grounders. And even later, catcher Tom Nieto had a passed ball. And pitchers Bob Forsch, Bill Campbell, Andy Hassler and Ken Dayley combined to yield 11 hits. Six Padre runs were unearned, however.

And on the Padre side, starter Dave Dravecky naturally was pleased over this offensive output and defensive lapses, especially since the Padres had given him a grand total of 0 runs in two other starts this season. (Part of the blame goes to Dodger pitcher Orel Hershiser, who won 2-0 games both times).

Still, Dravecky said, “Those guys went out and played just as hard in those other games. It’s baseball.”

Speaking of baseball, the trips can be awfully hard, especially when there’s turmoil. The Padres lost Alan Wiggins, their leadoff hitter, when this trip began April 25, and they are now ready to get home and get settled again.

It’s been a while, too. How long? Before Monday’s game here, the DiamandVision scoreboard at Busch Stadium had shown “This Week in Baseball,” a show of highlights in which every big leaguer yearns to be included.

And the segment that was shown here featured Tony Gwynn’s game-winning home run off of Fernando Valenzuela on April 28, something that happened on this same trip. Martinez, impressed, congratulated Gwynn, forgetting how good it had looked the first time, since it seemed so long ago.

PADRES AT A GLANCE

Scorecard FIRST INNING Padres--With one out, Gwynn walked. Garvey singled to center, Gwynn taking second. Nettles reached on Clark’s throwing error, loading the bases. McReynolds singled to left, Gwynn and Garvey scoring, McReynolds taking second and Nettles taking third on the throw to the plate. Kennedy was walked intentionally. Martinez doubled down the line in left, Nettles and McReynolds scoring, Kennedy taking third. Templeton flied to center, Kennedy scoring. Dravecky flew to center. Five runs (two unearned), three hits, one left.

SECOND INNING

Padres--With two outs, Garvey doubled down the line in left. Nettles singled to center, Garvey scoring. McReynolds popped to third. One run, two hits, one left.

Cardinals--With one out, McGee doubled to right center. Pendleton singled up the middle, McGee scoring. Nieto flew to center. Pendleton was caught stealing. One run, two hits, none left.

THIRD INNING

Padres--With one out, Martinez homered to left. Templeton singled up the middle. Campbell took the mound. Dravecky bunted Templeton to second. Flannery flew to left. One run, two hits, one left.

FOURTH INNING

Padres--Gwynn reached on Smith’s throwing error. Garvey singled to left, Gwynn taking second. Nettles flew to deep center, Gwynn taking third, Garvey taking second. McReynolds grounded to second. Kennedy singled to left, Gwynn and Garvey scoring. Martinez grounded to third. Two runs (unearned), two hits, one left.

SIXTH INNING

Padres--Hassler took the mound. Gwynn reached on Herr’s fielding error. Garvey singled to left, Gwynn taking second. Bevacqua pinch-ran for Garvey. Royster struck out. McReynolds reached on Pendleton’s fielding error, loading the bases. Kennedy singled up the middle, Gwynn and Bevacqua scoring, McReynolds taking second. Nieto was charged with a passed ball, McReynolds taking third and Kennedy taking second. Martinez walked, loading the bases. Templeton flew to right, McReynolds tagging and scoring, Kennedy taking third. Dravecky grounded to second. Three runs (unearned), two hits, two left.

SEVENTH INNING

Cardinals--Stoddard took the mound. Pendleton singled to left. Nieto walked, Pendleton taking second. Van Slyke, pinch-hitting for Hassler, popped to Flannery. DeJesus singled to left, Pendleton scoring, Nieto taking second. Coleman forced DeJesus, Nieto taking third. Lonnie Smith struck out. One run, two hits, two left.