Padres Have Double Trouble as Murphy Hits Double Homers

The Padres doubled their troubles Monday night by hitting into five double plays. And because Dale Murphy double-pumped (he hit two home runs), San Diego lost to the last-place Atlanta Braves, 4-1, in front of 14,164 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

As usual, the Padres saved their best for last. Trailing 4-0 with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Kevin McReynolds stepped up with the bases loaded--one swing away from a brand new ballgame. He swung, but only grounded the ball to first baseman Bob Horner, bringing in the only San Diego run on a fielder’s choice. Then, reliever Gene Garber made Graig Nettles whiff, and the game was over.

If there was one positive, it was that starting Padre pitcher Dave Dravecky had no more pain in his elbow. “Dave is back,” Manager Steve Boros said.

But Murphy is back, too, as he continues to hit out of the worst slump of his career. Murphy had only two homers in July, and--before Monday--only two homers in his last 107 at-bats. Also, he had only 42 RBIs. In April of 1985 alone, he had 29 RBIs. Had the Murph become a smurf?

Boros said the latest scouting reports had Murphy as a contact hitter, “spraying the ball everywhere.” It just couldn’t be.

“I’ve been struggling, no question,” Murphy said.

Then, he hit these two homers against the Padres (and had his first four-hit game of the season). The first home run came in the sixth inning. He led off against Dravecky and blasted a fastball to right-center. It carried and fell over the fence.

The next inning, winning pitcher Jim Acker (2-1) hit a double, followed by a Billy Sample bunt single. Ken Oberkfell scored Acker with a sacrifice fly, bringing Murphy to the plate.

Another fastball and another homer, this one to left--just over John Kruk’s outstretched glove.

“I basically made two mistakes,” Dravecky said. “And they cost us the game. I threw a fastball away (on the first one) and a fastball in. I tried both sides of the plate and ended up getting beat.”

Boros cringed: “Looks like he (Murphy) is about to go on one of his patented tears. We’ll have to figure how to pitch to him. . . . I think we have a problem on our hands.”

A bigger problem is the National League West pennant race, in which the Padres are in fourth place and 7 1/2 games out. What to do? In the first place, they have to start hitting.

“I still think we’ve got a winning streak in us,” Boros said.

Young Acker made it tough on them. They had never seen him before--former Toronto manager and current Brave General Manager Bobby Cox traded for him this year--and hardly knew what to expect. Tim Flannery was asking catcher Terry Kennedy about him before the game.

And the kid was impressive--throwing sliders and keeping the ball down, which resulted in all those double plays.

The five double plays set an Atlanta record for a nine-inning game (they turned seven in one extra inning game), and it tied a Padre record.

Here are all five, blow by blow:

First inning: Flannery led off with a single, but Tony Gwynn (who later extended his hitting streak to 12 games) grounded to second baseman Glenn Hubbard, who started the double play.

Second inning: McReynolds led off with a walk, but Nettles bounced back to pitcher Acker, who started the double play.

Fifth inning: Kennedy singled with one out, but Garry Templeton grounded to Hubbard, who started another one.

Seventh inning: McReynolds singled with one out, but Nettles grounded to that man again, Hubbard.

Eighth inning: Steve Garvey led off with a single, but Kennedy lined one right at Hubbard, who caught it in the air and doubled off Garvey.

“The double plays hurt us, but in a couple cases, we hit the ball well,” Boros said.

Murphy had been hitting the ball well for a week now, but had little luck. In San Francisco, he pounded a ball hard and long into a typical Candlestick Park wind. Witnesses said it would have gone 600 feet in Atlanta, where the Braves play in a ballpark nicknamed “Launching Pad.” But you couldn’t launch a missile into that Candlestick Park wind, and his shot there was another long out.

“I was feeling better,” Murphy said.

Strange, but Murphy hit the first two homers of his career here in San Diego--both in the same game, on Sept. 15, 1977. The starting pitchers that day were Randy Jones (for San Diego) and Dick Ruthven. The Padres had a 7-1 lead, but committed four errors in the eighth and the game went into extra innings. Murphy--who was the Braves’ starting catcher that day--led off the 10th with his second homer (off Rollie Fingers), and that was the game winner.

Those were the days when the Padres were even worse than this. The attendance that day was 3,740.

“I remember that day,” Murphy said.

Padre Notes Rather than sending pitcher Eric Show (sore elbow) to the disabled list, the Padres have sent him to the bullpen. He will be there until he can throw more than four innings or so. “I’ll gradually ease into it and try to throw through this thing,” Show said Monday. “Maybe nature will take its course. And I’ll try not to irritate the arm too much in the meantime. It’ll take some time, which might mean soon or might mean later.” Manager Steve Boros said he will use Show in very long relief. “I won’t put him in a tie game,” Boros said. “Maybe a 10-run lead or something.” . . . Lance McCullers has taken Show’s place in the rotation and will start Friday in Houston. . . . Boros left his glasses at home Monday and asked to borrow third base coach Jack Krol’s pair, since they have similar prescriptions. . . . Boros on John Kruk, who continues to play almost every day: “He’s our Kevin Mitchell (the Mets’ rookie). They do what they can to get him in the lineup.” . . . Shortstop Garry Templeton has shaved his mustache. He had walked into the clubhouse Monday, and his teammates did a quadruple-take before realizing what was different about his face. “No special reason,” said Templeton, explaining why. “I shaved it off four years ago. That was the last time.” . . . Boros said this weekend that Carmelo Martinez probably won’t play left field in any upcoming home games. “I don’t think it’s really fair to Mellow (Martinez) to run him out there to left field in this park,” Boros said. “You’ve heard the fans. I’ll play him at first base from time to time. I played Carmelo in left field in Chicago. I gave him the start there because I know, from time to time, he’s got to get a start to try to stay a little bit sharp. But, hey, you saw what happened when he even played first base (his best position) here against the Cardinals. I mean, he’s standing under a popup, and they’re booing him. It’s 50 feet up in the air and hasn’t hit his glove yet, and they’re starting to boo him already. They’re thinking he might drop it or something. They’re just not being very fair with him. I’m sure Mellow, would say, ‘Hey, that doesn’t bother me,’ but it’s got to bother him. It’s got to.”