Reds Start Quickly and Beat Padres

The fireworks were restored, and with them Pete Rose’s good spirits, which are pretty close to eternal, anyway.

The Cincinnati Reds disposed of the Padres’ four-game winning streak Saturday night with a 7-4 victory before a Riverfront Stadium crowd of 27,865.

The Reds got two quick runs off Dave Dravecky in the first inning, then pretty much wrapped it up on Cesar Cedeno’s three-run home run in the fourth.

“It was wonderful to hear fireworks again,” Rose said, alluding to the 15-second display of pyrotechnics that accompanied the Cedeno blast. “But, I tell ya, I think I like the 45-second fireworks even better.”

The longer display follows a Cincinnati victory.

The show had been temporarily aborted this week in an austerity move by team management. But, thanks to the generosity of a food chain, the fireworks returned Saturday night.

Rose was asked if he liked the fireworks sufficiently to pay for them himself. He smiled, ran a hand through his artificially colored hair, and said, “Well, maybe not that much.”

There will nothing artificial or staged about today’s matchup at Riverfront, when the Padres throw unbeaten Andy Hawkins (10-0) against Cincinnati ace Mario Soto (8-3).

The Padres, who had swept a doubleheader Friday from the Reds, will attempt to rebuild their lead in the National League West to 3 1/2 games today.

“Andy don’t want to be 11-0,” Rose said facetiously when asked the key to hitting Hawkins. “If we beat him, that would make his next start more important, wouldn’t it? But I doubt he looks at it that way.”

Rose was in a joyous mood Saturday night, as well he should be. The Reds are playing better than anyone had expected, and he is only 50 hits away from surpassing Ty Cobb’s record of 4,191.

Rose is all over the newspapers and TV screens in Cincinnati.

There was a piece Saturday about a man who had caught the only grand slam Rose ever hit, which was against Dallas Green on July 18, 1964. The fellow plans to present the ball to Rose, and is willing to take a lie detector test to prove its authenticity.

Rose tolerates all the silliness--and the pressure--with great humor.

When a blond TV reporter walked into his office Saturday night, Rose said, “Steve, don’t worry, whoever it was that cut your hair, we’ll get him.”

Rose is a master at playing the media, remembering first names and saying hello. But, beyond that, he just can’t seem to get enough of this game--in all its variety--that has made him a household name for a quarter of a century.

Much was made in the local press about the importance of this series, despite the efforts of the Padres and Rose to suggest that the season is still only a third gone.

Rose was still making that point after his club bounced back from Friday night’s sweep.

“I didn’t think our players were tight Friday night,” Rose said. “I know I wasn’t. I’m sure some of our fans were saying to themselves, ‘That’s our Reds,’ when we lost two last night. But I think now they realize we have a pretty good club.

“We’re going to be contenders, and we would be even if we lost the whole four-game series to San Diego. The Padres have to be the favorites, but I’ve been there, and I know how hard it is to repeat.”

Over in the Padre locker room, Manager Dick Williams seemed to be on the same wavelength as Rose.

“Pete’s doing a helluva job with that club,” he said. “He has got some fellows who have hit a lot of homers (Tony Perez and Cesar Cedeno) but if he can keep them fresh and keep the team having fun, they will be OK.”

Williams then made the obvious point: this is emphatically not the reincarnation of the Big Red Machine of the 1970s.

“There’s no Morgan and there’s no Bench over there now,” Williams said, alluding to Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench. And, of course, Rose and Perez are past 40.

Williams, getting back to the present, said he wasn’t unhappy with the pitching of starter Dave Dravecky (4-4) who gave up four hits, one of them Cedeno’s homer.

“I’m not sure what Cedeno hit,” Williams said. “I was down at the end of the bench getting a drink of water when I heard the crack of the bat and thought to myself, Oh, hell.”

Williams was pleased with the hitting of leadoff man Jerry Royster, who had three of San Diego’s 11 hits off Joe Price, Tom Hume and John Franco.

“He has shortened his swing and he’s using the whole field,” Williams said of Royster’s improved stroke.

And so, the stage is set for a possible epic meeting between Hawkins and Soto today, with a forecast of 90 degrees, and hotter still on the synthetic turf.

The kind of day Pete Rose lives for.

PADRES AT A GLANCE

Scorecard FIRST INNING Reds--Redus singled to center, then stole second. Concepcion walked. Parker singled to center, scoring Redus and advancing Concepcion to third. Perez flied to center, scoring Concepcion. Knicely struck out, and Parker was caught stealing. Two runs, two hits, none left.

FOURTH INNING

Reds--Parker walked. Perez singled, advancing Parker to second. Knicely fouled out to third. Cedeno homered to left, his first, scoring Parker and Perez. Esasky popped to second. Oester flied to left. Three runs, two hits, none left.

FIFTH INNING

Padres--Bochy doubled to left. Ramirez flied to right. Brown, pinch-hitting for Dravecky, singled to right, Bochy taking third. Royster singled to center, scoring Bochy and advancing Brown to second. Gwynn singled to right, advancing Brown to third and Royster to second. Garvey flied to left, scoring Brown and advancing Royster to third. Royster scored on a passed ball, Gwynn taking second. McReynolds fouled out to third. Three runs, four hits, one left.

SIXTH INNING

Reds--With Stoddard pitching and two out, Cedeno walked. Cedeno stole second and took third on a throwing error by Bochy. Esasky singled to right, scoring Cedeno. Oester flied out to left. One run, one hit, one error, one left.

SEVENTH INNING

Padres--With two out and Hume pitching, Royster singled to right. Gwynn doubled to left, scoring Royster. Garvey struck out. One run, two hits, one left.

Reds--With Booker pitching and one out, Redus singled to center. Redus stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Concepcion walked. Parker flied to center, scoring Redus. Concepcion stole second. Perez grounded out to short. One run, one hit, one left.