Walling Has a Surprise for Himself and Padres in Astros’ 8-1 Victory

The crowd wanted Denny Walling, but Denny Walling didn’t want the crowd. Inside the Astro dugout, teammate Alan Ashby ran up and grabbed Walling’s batting helmet.

“Go out there,” Ashby said.

Denny Walling--for the first time in his major league career--tipped his cap to a standing ovation.

He is partly bald.

“You know, I’ve never taken my hat off in this building, I don’t think,” Walling said.

So it was a day of surprise. Walling, who doesn’t play every day, wound up hitting two home runs and driving in six runs in Wednesday’s 8-1 Astro victory over the Padres before 10,148. Padre starter Andy Hawkins (5-5) had yielded a home run to Walling back in San Diego a couple weeks ago, but lightning struck twice and a third time.

Now, three of Walling’s four homers in 1986 have come against Hawkins.

“You’re obviously aware of certain guys that hit you,” Hawkins said. “I knew it. But you can’t walk him. He was hitting third, and you had the league leader in home runs (Glenn Davis) right behind him.”

Said Walling: “Heck of a day? This is a heck of a week for me. I’ve never had more than three RBIs in a game, and I had six? And two home runs is a first, since my college days, anyway.”

Hawkins left in the fifth inning--having yielded five runs--and was replaced by Mark Thurmond, who’s giving it the old college try in the bullpen.

But Thurmond walked in a run and couldn’t get Walling out, either. In the eighth, Walling hit a bases-loaded single off Thurmond for his final two RBIs of the day.

Thurmond, for perhaps the first time in his career, refused comment.

“I have nothing to say,” he said.

Astro starter Mike Scott (8-5) had nothing but success with his split-fingered fastball--or is it a forkball?

“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s just a name.”

And just about unhittable. Scott has not allowed more than two runs in any of his last 13 starts. He leads the league in strikeouts, too.

The Padres--who had won the previous two games here--managed only six hits Monday.

“You see it and think fastball and--boom--the bottom falls out,” said Tony Gwynn, describing the great Scott’s best pitch. “I tell you, that is one amazing pitch. . . . He throws his harder than Jack Morris. And because it’s hard and breaks late, the hitter doesn’t have enough time to change his stride.”

Is Scott the best in the National League? Gwynn paused, mentioned Bob Knepper, Dwight Gooden and Fernando Valenzuela, and said: “If you put their numbers side by side, maybe he’s the best the last two months.”

When you’re good, people think you cheat. So a lot of players are mumbling that Scott plays doctor with the baseball--cutting it up, etc.

“I’ve been hearing that for two years, ever since I started throwing the split-fingered pitch,” Scott said. “It got to me for a while, but I think it’s great. I love it. If batters start thinking about things other than hitting, it works to my advantage. But most of that talk has tapered off.”

Padre bats tapered off, too. Monday and Tuesday, they combined for 16 runs and 24 hits, and now this.

“That’s why it was important to win last night (Tuesday),” Manager Steve Boros said.

Really, this was a most successful trip for the Padres--7-5 and now three games behind the first-place Astros.

And certainly this last game wasn’t the worst game of the trip. Remember the 18-1 loss to the Giants? What hurt most this game was the disappointing pitching. Hawkins’ parents had driven three hours from their hometown of Waco, Tex., and got to sit in the front row for Wednesday’s game.

Walling, who platoons with Phil Garner at third base, hit his first homer in the third inning with two men on.

Mel Hawkins, Andy’s dad, rubbed his chin.

Later, Andy singled to right, and Mel got up and threw his fist in the air.

“He was a good hitter himself,” said Andy, who saw the fist. “He thinks I should be a better hitter.”

Finally, in the fifth inning, Hawkins threw a low slider to Walling, who ripped it deep to right. The crowd got up to scream for Walling, but Mel Hawkins just sat there, rubbing his chin.

Padre Notes

Jack McKeon, Padre general manager, was inaccurately quoted in Wednesday’s Times about a situation involving Marvell Wynne last Saturday in the game between the Padres and Braves. McKeon was quoted as saying Wynne should have been looking for a walk when runners were on first and and third with the Padres trailing by two runs in the ninth inning. Runners actually were on first and second, as McKeon had said.. . . . Seattle Manager Dick Williams, told that Garry Templeton had said the Padres were more enthusiastic with him as their manager, responded: “Leave me out of it. I have a job to do here.” . . . Minor league notes: Steve Kemp, formerly of Pittsburgh and signed to a minor league contract last week by the Padres, hit a home run in his first at-bat for the Las Vegas Stars Tuesday night. Also, Roberto Alomar, son of Padre first base coach Sandy Alomar, went 5 for 5 for Reno (Class A) Tuesday night. He had two doubles, a home run and four RBIs. He has an 11-game hitting streak. . . . Carmelo Martinez, who no longer is the regular left fielder, received his paycheck Tuesday, held it up and said: “Not bad (money) for a guy who doesn’t play.”