Cubs’ Homers Blow Away Hoyt’s Homecoming, 6-5

San Diego pitcher LaMarr Hoyt, who had said it was good to be back in the “crisp” Chicago air, forgot one thing: This air blows.

It blew three Chicago Cub fly balls over the left-field fence for home runs, and Hoyt’s homecoming Saturday was much colder than he imagined.

Broadcaster Harry Caray screamed: “Cubs win, 6-5!”

The Cubs could’ve lost. They were ahead, 6-3, in the sixth, but Graig Nettles--with Kevin McReynolds on base--hit one deep to right field, where gusts were holding up the fly balls. Right fielder Keith Moreland went back, but the ball fell into the stands. The fans there, wanting no part of a Padre home-run ball, hurled it back.

No matter. The Padres were back in the game, down only by a run.

But count their blown opportunities:

(1) Following Nettles’ home run, Carmelo Martinez--pinch-hitting in pain--singled to center. Bip Roberts, who had three more hits in the leadoff spot and raised his average to .256, doubled to right, Martinez straining his right knee to make it to third with two outs.

Then, Cub Manager Jim Frey replaced Saturday’s starter Dennis Eckersley with Sunday’s starter Guy Hoffman. He got pinch-hitter Jerry Royster to ground out to Shawon Dunston, who the Cubs think is the National League’s All-Star shortstop.

It was a nice job by Hoffman, but now he couldn’t start Sunday’s game. Somebody ran up to Steve Trout and told him: “Sorry. You’ll have to start in his place.”

(2) In the seventh, Steve Garvey--still booed here for a certain home run he hit in 1984--singled and advanced to third on Terry Kennedy’s single. But the play of the game was then made by Cub second baseman Ryne Sandberg, who caught a McReynolds line drive that had game-tying RBI written all over it.

“Mac scalded that,” Manager Steve Boros said. “Four or five feet in either direction, and it could’ve opened up that inning.”

The next man, pinch-hitter Garry Templeton, closed the inning with a ground ball up the middle to Sandberg, who--this time--leaped and threw off-balance to get Templeton at first.

(3) In the eighth, Tim Flannery opened with a single, stole second and took third on Roberts’ ground out to second. With two outs, it was up to pinch-hitter Marvell Wynne, who had been slated to start the game but was scratched from the lineup when he was caught in airport traffic.

Wynne’s wife, April, had given birth Thursday night to a boy--christened Marvell Jr.--and daddy had gone home to see the kid. His flight back into Chicago got in at 11:15 a.m. Saturday, but heavy construction on the airport access road slowed down his ride to Wrigley Field.

He arrived just in time to see Roberts begin the game with a single.

So here he was in the eighth inning, not having hit since Thursday, stepping up with the game on the line against Cub reliever Lee Smith.

He struck out.

Wynne said: “I was ready, but . . . “

Smith was tough. He recorded his third save when he retired Tony Gwynn, Garvey and Kennedy in the ninth.

At least the Padres are hitting better. Friday, in a victory here, they had 10 hits and had 15 more Saturday. Wynne’s replacement, John Kruk the rookie, hit his first career home run in the first inning--with Roberts on base--to give San Diego the early lead.

It was a shot to left, obviously wind-aided, but Kruk said: “It’s something I won’t forget.”

The left-field bleacher bums he will forget. They bombarded the rookie with catcalls--mostly obscene.

“Is this the worst place I’ve been? If I could’ve spoken better Spanish, I guess some fans in Mexico maybe were as bad. . . . But it seems like the people here are sitting right on top of you.”

The Padres were on top, 2-0, but only until the bottom of the first. Facing Hoyt--who spent six years with the Chicago White Sox--Dunston led off with a double, moved to third on Gary Matthews’ ground out and scored on Sandberg’s ground out. Then, Moreland homered to left off a Hoyt fastball.

Then, Eckersley--the pitcher--homered off another Hoyt fastball with a man on in the second, making it 4-2.

“If you get it in my zone, I can lose it,” Eckersley explained.

Then, catcher Jody Davis homered off a Hoyt slow curveball with a man on in the fourth, making it 6-2.

“That was the game right there,” pitching coach Galen Cisco said.

Hoyt (0-1), who left after four innings, already had hailed a taxi back to the hotel when reporters finally made it to the clubhouse.

Cisco was his spokesman: “As long as he’s making progress and keeps getting stronger, we won’t worry about him. He’s the type that can run off four, five, six wins in a row.

“Listen, this was his first bad outing, and he had a 6-5 game in Chicago, which is mild, really.”

Padre Notes Carmelo Martinez, still bothered by tendinitis in his right knee, is scheduled to start today after missing two straight games. The artificial turf in St. Louis was too much of a strain on the knee, and he played the last two games there in pain. He neglected to tell Manager Steve Boros, though. “I didn’t want him to think I’m a quitter,” Martinez said. But he eventually did tell Boros. “I wasn’t helping the team or myself if I was playing hurt,” Martinez said. “I think I can perform better in the field if my knee’s better.” In one of the games he played hurt, he and center fielder Kevin McReynolds let a fly ball by Ozzie Smith fall in between them, and it was Smith who scored the winning run. The knee was bothering Martinez. “I never like to come out of the lineup. Never. I love to play. This is my job, but I don’t take it just as a job. I’ve been playing since I was a little kid. I’d fight with my mom when she wouldn’t let me go to the park. This is what I like to do. Sitting is hard on me.” The tendinitis, though, isn’t healing so fast. “That’s what’s killing me,” he said. “Is this gonna get better? Or will it be this way the whole season?” . . . Again, Tony Gwynn batted in the No. 3 spot, and it apparently will be permanent. . . . McReynolds, for the second straight game, batted sixth. After hitting the game-winning home run Friday, he went 2 for 4 Saturday.