Garvey Kissing Baseballs Again; Padres Win, 4-3

ATLANTA — A would-be senator and a would-be governor helped to lead the Padres to a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves Tuesday night.

The senator is none other than Steve Garvey, who had three more hits Tuesday and broke a scoreless seventh-inning tie with an RBI double. A month ago, Garvey hinted at retirement, seemingly ready to start kissing babies for a living. But now that he’s hitting again (8 for 19 and 23 for 57), his sights are set on a pennant race, not a senatorial race.

“We’ve got to get back within striking distance,” Garvey said of the Padres. “We need six or seven wins in a row. That would get us back in the race, I think.”

Bruce Bochy followed Garvey in the seventh with a two-run double, giving LaMarr Hoyt (6-8) a 3-0 lead. Inexplicably, though, Hoyt began throwing more off-speed pitches in the bottom of the seventh, and the Braves scored two runs.

Jerry Royster’s leadoff homer in the eighth provided the insurance run. Royster, a former Brave, was given a nice ovation as he rounded the bases. Afterward, one of the clubhouse attendants, John Holland, said two friends of his liked Royster so much when he played here that they voted for him in Tuesday’s Georgia gubernatorial election.

“Well, they didn’t want to vote for Joe Frank Harris, so they voted for the best man they could think of--Jerry Royster,” Holland said.

“I like it,” Royster said.

Manager Steve Boros said he liked Tuesday’s victory, considering it kept the Padres out of last place. It wasn’t as nice a game for Atlanta Manager Chuck Tanner, who had a mini-melee with one of his own players in the ninth inning.

At the time, Goose Gossage was holding a 4-3 lead (Kevin McReynolds had just lost a ball in the lights, resulting in a three-base error that led to an Atlanta run). With two out in the bottom of the ninth, Tanner sent Terry Harper up to pinch-hit for Glenn Hubbard. Hubbard hurled his helmet as he came back to the dugout. Tanner--supposedly nicer than even Boros--picked it up and threw it back at Hubbard. Then, Tanner got right in Hubbard’s face. Tanner’s face turned crimson.

Hubbard must have had the last laugh, though, because Harper struck out on three pitches--all Gossage sliders.

It was Gossage’s 20th save of the year--the seventh consecutive season he’s done that. Again, his slider was his best pitch, according to pitching coach Galen Cisco.

“That was the pitch that did it for him,” Cisco said.

Said Gossage, who kept singing country tunes in the clubhouse: “A lot of fastballs I rushed. I wanted to throw it too hard.”

Gossage had replaced Craig Lefferts to start the eighth and tried throwing fastballs, a strategy he abandoned quickly after Billy Sample singled, Ken Oberkfell lined out hard to right and Goose threw a wild pitch.

Throwing sliders, he retired Dale Murphy and Ken Griffey to end the inning.

In the ninth, Chris Chambliss led off with the shot to left that McReynolds dropped. The ball was right at him, but McReynolds was bothered by the lights and the ball rolled to the fence, Chambliss chugging to third.

Sliders, sliders, sliders. Rafael Ramirez and Ozzie Virgil (his ground out scored Chambliss) went down, which brought us to the Tanner-Hubbard incident and Harper’s eventual strikeout.

Hoyt had lost his four previous starts, but he again avoided the home-run ball, his nemesis. He has given up just five homers in his last 13 games. Hoyt said his season turned around after his 18-1 loss in San Francisco on June 23.

Padre Notes

Pitcher Eric Show threw well in the bullpen Tuesday, according to Manager Steve Boros, so Show will start the second game of Friday’s doubleheader in Cincinnati. . . . Carmelo Martinez, who slipped in the Houston Astrodome shower room last Saturday night and banged his right knee, was examined Monday in San Diego and ruled fit. It was just a bruise, not a ligament strain, so he will rejoin the team today. . . . Catcher Bruce Bochy, voted the slowest Padre by his teammates, hit two doubles Tuesday night. “We still want him to hit a triple,” Boros said, “but it’ll have to to come on artificial surface when an outfielder dives for one of his balls and misses. And if he does it, it’ll have to be featured on “This Week In Baseball” with the camera following him from base to base. Of course, it’ll take seven or eight minutes to film.” . . . LaMarr Hoyt, reflecting on his time spent in a rehabilitation center this spring, said Tuesday: “I came out of it a totally better person and leaned a whole lot. Everything that’s happened to me this season has just made me a better person. In a way, I’m happy it happened, but then in a way, I’m not. Know what I mean?”

PADRES AT A GLANCE

Scorecard SEVENTH INNING Padres--Gwynn doubled to right. Kruk struck out. McReynolds walked. Garvey doubled to left, Gwynn scoring and McReynolds taking third. Bochy singled to right, McReynolds and Garvey scoring. Templeton was walked intentionally. Roberts popped to third. Hoyt grounded to the pitcher. Three runs, three hits, two left.

Braves--Griffey singled to left. Chambliss singled to right, Griffey taking third. Ramirez singled to left, Griffey scoring and Chambliss taking second. Lefferts replaced Hoyt. Virgil popped to second. Hubbard forced Ramirez, but Chambliss scored on Roberts’ throwing error to first. Simmons, batting for Smith, flied to left. Two runs (one earned), three hits, one error, one left.

EIGHTH INNING

Padres--Royster homered to left, his third. Gwynn flied to left. Kruk grounded to first, unassisted. Dedmon replaced Assenmacher. McReynolds singled to right. Garvey forced McReynolds. One run, two hits, one left.

NINTH INNING

Braves--Gossage pitching. Chambliss took third on McReynolds’ fielding error. Ramirez popped to second. Virgil grounded to short, Chambliss scoring. Harper struck out. One run (unearned), no hits.