Padres, Show Have Off-Nights as Reds Win a Slugfest, 11-9

On an off-night for both teams, the Padres were worse off than the Cincinnati Reds. First of all, San Diego starter and loser Eric Show was booed viciously, and Padre fielders kept booting baseballs.

And the Reds, who weren’t superior but simply less inferior, moved to within four games of the first-place Padres with a 11-9 victory Friday night in front of 30,272 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The Padres’ pitching was, in a word, miserable. Show gave up two home runs and six runs in five innings and walked five batters. Show and relievers Luis DeLeon, Mark Thurmond and Craig Lefferts walked eight Reds and Yielded 12 hits. They Made Gary Redus, the Reds’ young outfielder, look sensational, as he walked four times and stole three bases.

The Reds didn’t exactly look like a second-place team, as shortstop Dave Concepcion committed two errors and starting pitcher Joe Price yielded seven hits, including a pinch-hit homer by Mario Ramirez. In all, four Red pitchers gave up 10 hits.

But Cincinnati came up with two important runs in the seventh inning, extending an 8-7 lead to 10-7. It all started with Ron Oester’s single to center, which Padre Kevin McReynolds figured he had a chance to catch in the air. But the ball bounced, hit his leg and rolled further out to center (one of three Padre errors). Oester ended up on third and scored on Nick Esasky’s pinch-hit single.

Cesar Cedeno scored Esasky with a double, and those were enough runs to win, although the Padres scored single runs in the seventh and eighth, making it 10-9. In the eighth, the Padres had Steve Garvey on third and Kurt Bevacqua on first with two outs, but McReynolds grounded out to second when Oester made an outstanding backhand stop.

The Reds added an insurance run in the ninth after Oester doubled, was sacrificed to second and scored on Tom Foley’s single through a drawn-in infield. Reliever Ted Power (four saves in four days) shut out the Padres in the ninth, and Ron Robinson, who pitches 1 innings, earned the victory.

“We knew we had to come and win two out of three,” Red outfielder Dave Parker said. “We have one under our belt, so now we need one out of two, at least.

“There were a lot of funny things out there. One of the best shortstops in the league (Concepcion) throws one away.”

And Show probably could have done without this. He has turned people off with his conservative political views, but perhaps fans forgave him because he was San Diego’s winningest pitcher over the last two seasons.

But now he is pitching poorly, and Friday’s game maybe was perhaps his poorest of the season. He Walked in a run. He’d hear boos, and then he’d walk someone, and then he’d hear boos again. He gave up a long home run to Parker. He threw away a pickoff throw. He gave up a home run to Wayne Krenchiki, of all people.

His breaking ball once almost sailed over catcher Terry Kennedy’s head. He heard more boos. What’s worse, his enemy, Ted Leitner, the local sportcaster who has criticized Show on the air, caught a foul ball and was cheered.

Show couldn’t win.

The fifth inning was the worst. San Diego had trailed, 3-2, but Show walked Pete Rose on four pitches, all the pitches high. Luis DeLeon then got up in the bullpen.

Parker, who had homered in the fourth, singled this time. After Show got one out, the Reds tried a double steal, and Padre third baseman Kurt Bevacqua had to cover the bag.

The batter, Dave Concepcion, hit the ball where Bevacqua would have been and Rose scored.

Krenchicki, who had homered Thursday in San Francisco, homered again on a 3-and-2 pitch, and it got ugly. More boos Show was going to come out, but he’d pitch to the pitcher, Joe Price, first. He threw two balls out of the strike one before he finally struck him out.

He walked to the dugout to more boos.

The padres, however, immediately scored four runs themselves, fueled by a most unlikely fellow. Ramirez, a basically forgotten man, pinch-hit for Show and slammed a two-run homer to left. PADRES AT A GLANCE

Scorecard SECOND INNING Padres--Bevacqua doubled down the right-field line. McReynolds singled up the middle, Bevacqua scoring. Kennedy flew out to right. Martinez singled to right, McReynolds taking third. Templeton forced Martinez, McReynolds scoring. Show flew out to left. Two runs, three hits, one left.

THIRD INNING Reds--With two outs, Redus walked. Show’s pickoff throw was wild, Redus taking third. Milner reached on Bevacqua’s error, Redus scoring. Rose popped out to center. One run (uneared), no hits, one left.

FOURTH INNING Reds--Parker homered to right, his 14th. Knicely doubled to left-center. Concepcion popped out to Garvey. Oester walked. Krenchicki singled to right, Knicely taking third, Oester taking second. Price lined out to second. Redus walked on a 3-2 pitch, Knicely scoring. Milner struck out. Two runs, three hits, two left.

FIFTH INNING

Reds--Rose walked. Parker singled to right, Rose taking second. Knicely flew out to center. Concepcion singled to left, Rose scoring, Parker taking second. Oester popped out to shortstop. Krenchicki homered to right. Price struck out. Four runs, three hits, none left.

Padres--With one out, Templeton had an infield single. Ramirez, pinch-hitting for Show, homered to left, his first. Royster singled up the middle. Davis doubled to left-center, Royster scoring. Robinson took the mound with the count 2-0 to Garvey. Garvey walked. Bevacqua reached on Concepcion’s error. McReynolds flew out to left, Davis scoring. Kennedy grounded out to first. Four runs, four hits, two left.

SIXTH INNING Reds--DeLeon took the mound. Redus walked. Redus stole second. Redus stole third. Milner singled, Redus scoring. Thurmond took the mound. Rose grounded out to the pitcher, Milner taking second. Parker was hit by a pitch. Knicely grounded into a double play. One run, one hit, two left.

Padres--With one out, Templeton had an infield single. Brown, pinch-hitting for Thurmond, walked. Flannery, pinch-hitting for Royster, walked. Bumbry, pinch-hitting for Davis, forced Flannery, Templeton scoring, Brown taking third. Garvey forced Bumbry. One run, one hit, two left.

SEVENTH INNING Reds--Lefferts took the mound. With one out, Oester singled to center, taking third on Kevin McReynolds’ fielding error. Esasky, pinch-hitting for Krenchicki, singled to left, Oester scoring. Cedeno, pinch-hitting for Robinson, doubled to left, Esasky scoring. Redus walked. Redus stole second. Milner flew out to left.

Padres--Bevacqua walked. McReynolds grounder was thrown away by Concepcion, Bevacqua scoring, McReynolds taking third. Kennedy struck out. Martinez flew out to left. Templeton grounded out to the shortstop. One run, no hits, one left.

EIGHTH INNING

Padres--Brown singled up the middle. Flannery popped to second. Bochy, pinch-hitting for Lefferts, forced Brown. Garvey walked. Bevacqua singled, Bochy scoring. Power took the mound. McReynolds grounded out to second.

NINTH INNING

Reds--Oester doubled to right. Esasky sacrificed Oester to third. Foley singled to right, Oester scoring. Redus struck out. Milner flew out to right. One run, two hits, one left.