Sandberg Hits a Pair of Home Runs to Lead Cubs Past Padres, 7-3

You can call him powerful, or you can call him dangerous, or you can call him a long-ball threat. Just so long as you don’t call him a home-run hitter.

“I don’t think of myself as one. I think of myself as a line-drive hitter with power,” Ryne Sandberg said with some modesty Tuesday after producing a pair of two-run homers to fuel a 14-hit attack that carried the Chicago Cubs to a 7-3 win over the San Diego Padres.

“And a good example of why I don’t is the early part of this season,” Sandberg said. “I started the season thinking I was a home-run hitter and I wasn’t hitting much of anything.”

Sandberg, who hit 19 homers in 1984 after totaling just 15 in the two previous seasons, started this year by going 8-for-57 through the first 14 games.

He didn’t reach .200 until May 5, but after shortening his stroke and taking extra batting practice, he finished that month at .308, went .306 for June and is hitting at better than .320 through this month.

In fact, half of his 28 runs batted in have come in the last 21 games.

And Sandberg’s four RBIs Tuesday were enough to stake left-hander Steve Trout to his eighth win in 12 decisions.”

Chicago took a quick lead off Padre starter Eric Show, 7-6, when Billy Hatcher opened the game with a double and Sandberg hit a 3-1 pitch into the left field bleachers.

In the second, Trout singled and, with two outs, Sandberg hit his 12th homer of the season for a 4-0 lead.

The Cubs finished Show in the fourth with two more runs. Larry Bowa led off with a double, went to third on Trout’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Hatcher’s sacrifice fly.

Sandberg followed with his third hit, a single, stole second and advanced to third after catcher Bruce Bochy’s throw skipped into center. Thad Bosley scored Sandberg with a single.

Trout, 8-4, held the Padres to one hit through five innings before running into trouble in the sixth. Jerry Royster drew a one-out walk and advanced on an infield single by Jerry Davis. Steve Garvey then drilled his 13th homer of the year deep into the left field seats.

Trout allowed three hits and five walks through seven innings. George Frazier allowed one hit over the last two innings for his first save.

The Cubs scored their last run in the eighth when Jody Davis singled, was sacrificed to second and scored on a single by Hatcher.