Padres Left Goose-less and Lose, 2-1

At the start of the troisieme manche (that’s third inning, for you Southerners), a cool Canadian breeze invaded Olympic Stadium here. It ruined the game for the hitters, who certainly knew that any ball hit to shallow portions of the outfield would end up in the infield.

And although this was plain to see, it is sometimes hard to take. Tony Gwynn, for instance, came up to bat Friday night with two runners on and two out in the 10th inning, and he hit one hard to dead center, the ball spinning, spinning toward the fence. And since Goose Gossage had just come out of the game for a pinch-hitter, it was imperative that this ball become a base hit, or else another Padre pitcher would inevitably blow the game.

But the wind gusted just then, the ball drifting back into the playing field. And Montreal Expo center fielder Herm Winningham made a brilliant, over-the-shoulder catch that basically ended the game.

Because with no one but Tim Stoddard to turn to, the Padres were easily scored upon in the bottom of the 10th and lost, 2-1. Tim Raines singled off Stoddard, stole second off Bruce Bochy, and Andre Dawson scored Raines with a double. That was that. Manager Dick Williams sat there in the clubhouse, wishing he had another Goose.

“I’ve got to get someone else to pick us up in the bullpen besides Goose,” said Williams, sounding more perplexed than angry. “I don’t see anyone doing it. The guy (Goose) did the job, and we can’t even hold one inning. Somebody’s going to have to step forward and do it. Goose can’t do it everyday. We want him to be able to lift hi arm in July, August and September, too.”

Still, Goose, who pitched the eighth and ninth innings, was more interested in lifting the spirits of his fellow relievers, who are in a funk right now. Craig Lefferts has an ERA of 6.00. Greg Booker apparently hasn’t recovered from the beanball incident with Chicago. Luis DeLeon is 0-1. And the other one is Stoddard, who had shown signs that he was coming around, dropping a one-time 16.00 ERA to 3.72.

But Stoddard’s slider was destroyed by the Expos, and Gossage later consoled him.

Said Gossage: “I don’t think the guys (in the bullpen) are getting enough work. There hasn’t been consistency.”

Said Stoddard: “I threw Raines a slider and Dawson a slider. Does that mean I should quit throwing sliders? I mean, what am I going to worry about? The game’s over. I don’t get discouraged, and I don’t get happy. It’s as simple as that. I’m throwing the ball good. I’m not worried about my confidence.

“In my best years, I never had a win before the All-Star break. Guys get paid to hit; guys get paid to pitch. Somebody wins; somebody loses. What do you want me to do? Jump in front of the subway?

“Whenever you (sportswriters) talk to a guy, he’s either the star or the loser. You come over to me, and should I apologize? Dawson was looking for it (the slider). It was on the outside corner, but he kind of leaned over a bit. It probably would’ve been called a ball if he didn’t swing.”

Unfortunately for Stoddard, Dawson did swing, and now Williams plans to swing back and forth with his use of other relievers, not quite sure who will be the No. 2 man behind Gossage. He said Gossage will never pitch three full innings anymore, and that’s why he came out after two innings Friday night.

In defense of Stoddard, Raines didn’t steal second just on him. There’s a catcher involved, too, and Bochy (who struck out three time) was in there since Terry Kennedy had a stiff right arm. He had slept the wrong way on it. Raines did get a good jump on Stoddard, but Bochy’s throw almost sailed into center field.

As for Gwynn, he unnecessarily questioned his power after the game. The ball he had hit to center, off of winning relief pitcher Jeff Reardon, had no business going over the fence because of the Canadian wind.

But Gwynn still said, “I guess I have no drive, no power. I mean, that’s all I got. That was two runs. I must be hitting a buck (.100) with runners on. He (Reardon) threw me a belt-high fastball. Usually when I hit the ball that hard, I feel good, but I don’t now. I can’t hit it any better.”

Winningham, though, who came over from the Mets in the Gary Carter trade, made a great catch. As the ball was hit, he went back quickly, Dawson (the right fielder) telling him he wasn’t close to running into the fence. At that point, he said he felt it was better to catch the ball over his shoulder rather than turning around, stopping and catching it. So that’s what he did. It looked rather nonchalant.

“Reardon said he thought it was out, but, here, sometimes you give it your best shot and it goes out, and sometimes it dies,” Winningham said of Gwynn’s hit. “It wasn’t a nonchalant play. I thought it was gone, so I took off.”

Winningham has forced Terry Francona out of the lineup here, mainly because of his defense. He said when he was in high school, he was a “.400 or .500 hitter,” but liked defense more. And he still does.

“I’d rather take fly balls or ground balls than hit,” he said. “Frank Howard (his old coach with the Mets) always said if you still play good defense even though you’re not hitting, the manager will stay with you.”

Williams stayed with Eric Show for seven innings, and was quite pleased that Show gave up just five hits. Gossage gave up no hits. But Stoddard was blown away.

Padre Notes

Terry Kennedy had not felt any pain in his right shoulder before he went to bed Thursday night. So he just slept wrong, he says. He had treatment, threw some before the game and was expected to start. But it became sore again. His status for today’s game is uncertain. . . . Sources in Philadelphia say Padre General Manager Jack McKeon has talked to the Phillies about trading Alan Wiggins there, although Wiggins still is in a drug rehabilitation center. McKeon was unavailable for comment, and it’s sort of hard to understand what the Phillies would do with Wiggins when they already have Juan Samuel at second base. . . . An All-Star ballot note: Wiggins is on the ballot; Carmelo Martinez is not. . . . Strange things go on North of the border. Example: At times during Friday’s batting practice, the Padre infield consisted of Bobby Brown (wearing a batting helmet) at third, Andy Hawkins at shortstop, Kurt Bevacqua at second and bullpen catcher Roger Oglesby at first base. But Bevacqua was out there with an infielder’s glove, his name written on the side. He was semi-serious. He told regular second baseman Tim Flannery: “If they’re platooning, they might as well platoon me” . . . Bevacqua (smiling) on why the Atlanta Braves began to lose: “Dale Murphy became a one-man team, and then he stopped hitting.” . . . Carmelo Martinez on why he’s always treating his bat like a baton, flipping it as a cheerleader would: “In Triple-A, I didn’t play. Had to find something to do.” . . . Steve Garvey was named Sports Illustrated’s player-of-the-week in the May 20th issue. He went 14 for 28 (.500) with eight runs scored, two homers and three RBIs between May 6-12. Garvey had another big hit Friday, an RBI single in the sixth inning, tying the game at 1-1. . . . Flannery’s old buddy and manager from his minor league days in Hawaii, Doug Radar, was fired by the Texas Rangers. Said Flannery: “It just happens. It’s a tough job to have . . . But he gets paid through 1987. He’ll probably go home, fish and catch lobster.”

PADRES AT A GLANCE

Scorecard FIRST INNING Expos--With one out, Washington singled to left. Dawson struck out. Driessen singled to right, Washington taking second. Wallach singled to left, Washington scoring, Driessen taking second. Law struck out. One run, three hits, two left.

SIXTH INNING

Padres--With one out, Gwynn tripled down the line in right. Garvey singled to right, Gwynn scoring. Nettles struck out. McReynolds forced Garvey. One run, two hits, one left.

TENTH INNING

Expos--Stoddard took the mound. With one out, Raines singled to right. Raines stole second. Francona, pinch hitting for Reardon, was walked intentionally after the steal. Dawson doubled to left center. One run, two hits.