Padres Blow Chance in 9th and Lose to Houston, 2-1

How nasty are the Padres right now?

Sunday night, right here in the Baptist belt, Bobby Brown caught a foul ball hit into the dugout, stood up, asked fans in the front row if they wanted it, started to toss it to them, but, at the last moment, said: “Can’t have it.” He sat down.

That’s nasty.

And by the ninth inning, it was much worse, considering Astro pitcher Mike Scott was working with a 2-0 lead. But Al Bumbry, the team’s hottest hitter, led off with a homer, and the Padres had pep. Somebody actually clapped. When Tim Flannery walked on four pitches, Scott was replaced by Dave Smith. Tony Gwynn singled. Then, the bases were loaded with one out. The Padres, The Team That Wouldn’t Win, had a chance.

But Terry Kennedy, after the count was 3 and 0, struck out.

Carmelo Martinez, after fouling off seven 3-and-2 pitches, grounded out.

Astros 2, Padres 1.

Still, they stood in third place.

And, still, they were somber. If there’s been one distinguishing characteristic throughout this mega-slump, it’s been that. There’s little emotion here. Has this team already gone on strike?

And, partly, that’s the problem. Flannery, sitting there quietly after the game, said the strike threat has been a nuisance, that the Padre players have been distracted by it, that they all have their airline tickets to fly home on Tuesday, that he’s pessimistic about a settlement.

“This strike doesn’t help,” he said. “It looms over everyone’s head. The whole situation has gotten dark, dreary and disappointing. It has really taken the fun out. Not many guys here who believe we’ll play anymore after Monday. That’s how bad it’s gotten.”

And that ninth-inning semblance of a rally is how bad the Padres have gotten. They should have tied it up. Yet, in losing their third straight to the Astros, they failed in three important situations:

After Gwynn’s single, Flannery took third base, so there were runners at the corners with no outs. Steve Garvey was up. The infield was back.

Gwynn ran on the 1-1 pitch, which forced second baseman Bill Doran to cover the bag. Garvey smacked it right where Doran used to be, but Doran recovered and fielded the grounder. He looked at Flannery, who wasn’t interested in going home, and threw Garvey out.

Yet, later, it was learned that third-base coach Ozzie Virgil had told Flannery to run on any ground ball.

“If he selected not to go, that’s his doing,” Virgil said. “His order is to go home on a ball hit to the infield.”

Flannery, who probably made the right play, said: “I can’t score on that, not with nobody out. I’m a second baseman, and I know. You can’t get the double play with Tony running, so you’ve got to go home. And I can’t run with Kennedy and (Graig) Nettles coming up.”

With Gwynn on second and Flannery on third, Nettles was walked intentionally. That gave Kennedy, whose father is the Astro general manager, the chance to win it. Smith, the Astros’ best reliever, got behind 3 and 0.

But an inside fastball was called for a strike. Then Kennedy fouled one back. He missed the next pitch, a high breaking ball. He walked to the dugout, flipped his helmet on the floor and stuffed his bat in the bat rack.

Two outs.

So the game was left in Martinez’s hands. The count was 2 and 0. Soon, it was 3 and 1.

“I was aiming the ball a little,” Smith would say later.

His next pitch, the 3 and 1 pitch, was inside and fouled off into the left-field bleachers. Seven more foul balls ensued, for Martinez would swing at anything close.

“I know I swung at a couple of high pitches,” he said. “But I don’t want to take a third strike.”

Said Smith: “Five of those 3-2 pitches were balls. But he’s got to swing at anything over the plate in that situation.”

The ball he grounded out on for the final out was a fastball in. Phil Garner, the third baseman, fielded it, threw high to first, but Glenn Davis, who’d earlier hit a home run Sunday, jumped up, caught it and stepped on the base.

Afterward, Dick Williams admitted that he’s waiting to see what happens with the strike before he makes changes. But he will make changes.

“If they settle the thing, we’ll probably make adjustments,” he said. “I’m talking lineup changes.”

Yet, is that necessary? Flannery still is certain that the strike threat is partly the cause for this slump, and Garvey, the team thinking man, agreed.

“When you are struggling, you need as little diversion as possible,” he said. “That’s not using the strike as an excuse, but it’s a psychological factor.”

Said Gwynn: “There ain’t no cloud hanging over my head. I’m busting my butt until there’s a final decision . . . I’m not letting this mess with me. I’ve got more important things to worry about than a strike. We’re losing games we should win. My wife is about to have a baby. I mean, I’m on call all night.”

Still, the team is depressed. It’s obvious something’s bothering them. They’re blue. And after the game, wouldn’t you know it? They all sat and watched the movie, The Blues Brothers, on the clubhouse television.

Padre Notes Dave Dravecky was the loser Sunday, which means he’s 0-3 in his last eight starts. Yet, in those eight games, he has yielded just 17 runs (13 earned). “This is the way it goes sometimes,” he said. . . . Jose Cruz collected his 1,660th hit as an Astro on Sunday night, giving him the most hits of any Astro. Cesar Cedeno previously held the record. . . . Kurt Bevacqua left for San Diego on Sunday to be with his wife Carrie, who gave birth overnight.

PADRES AT A GLANCE

Scorecard SECOND INNING

Astros--With one out, Davis homered, his 9th. Bailey singled up the middle. Thon flew to right. Scott doubled to left, Bailey taking third. Doran grounded to third. One run, three hits, two left.

THIRD INNING

Astros--With two outs, Cruz singled to left, taking second when Martinez bobbled the ball. Mumphrey doubled to center, Cruz scoring. Davis grounded to third. One run, two hits, one left.

NINTH INNING

Padres--Bumbry, pinch hitting for Dravecky, homered, his first. Flannery walked. Smith took the mound. Gwynn singled to right, Flannery taking third. Garvey grounded to second, Gwynn taking second. Nettles was walked intentionally. Kennedy struck out. Martinez grounded out to third. One run, two hits, three left.