Padre Notebook : Bowa Won’t Let Pitchers Walk All Over Him

Padre Manager Larry Bowa went to the mound in the second inning of Saturday’s game against Oakland, and it wasn’t to congratulate Jimmy Jones for securing the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation.

“Larry got on him,” catcher Bruce Bochy said. “We know Larry will do that when we need it, and Jimmy had it coming. What he has to do now is just forget it before his next start.”

In a game that had a glut in nearly every department, the excessive walks had Bowa upset after a 13-11 Padre victory at Desert Sun Stadium.

Jones, the starter, walked five and allowed five hits and four runs in three innings. His performance set the stage for a sloppy afternoon in which the San Diego pitchers walked 12 and the fielders made five errors.

Jones, who is battling Ed Wojna for the fifth spot in the rotation, left early and was not available for comment after the game.

Bowa indicated he was still undecided between Jones and Wojna, and he had some advice for Jones.

“If I were him, I’d say, ‘Next time I get the ball, I better do something,’ ” Bowa said.

Bochy, who went 4 for 4 to lead a 21-hit Padre attack, predicted Jones will be fine when he pitches again.

“He is mature and won’t let this bother him,” Bochy said. “He just had no feel for the ball today. He was guiding it, and the plate was moving around on him.

“I tried to call everything to see what he could get over, and I was setting up behind the center of the plate. I wasn’t sitting out there on the corner.”

After Jones departed the game, Ray Hayward, Ed Vosberg and Todd Simmons pitched with limited success, as the walk total indicated.

“You can’t pitch like that in the big leagues,” Bowa said. “You can’t pitch like that in Triple-A. It’s one thing for a pitcher to get hit. That’s understandable. But all those walks are just a lack of concentration.”

The Padres battered Oakland starter Dave Stewart for nine runs on 12 hits, including seven runs in the third inning. The big hit in the third was Randy Ready’s two-run double. In the fifth, the Padres had a run-scoring triple by Marvell Wynne and a squeeze bunt by Gary Green.

The Padres have scored 61 runs in their last seven games.

Relief pitcher Craig Lefferts, who struck out the side in the eighth inning of Friday night’s victory over the A’s, said that performance was the best he has thrown this spring.

“I was mixing sliders, screwballs and fastballs,” he said. “My screwball usually isn’t as effective here, because the air is thin in the desert. It usually needs the heavier air to get the break I like, but it was breaking well for me.”

Under Bowa, Lefferts is more offense-minded. Although he rarely comes to the plate--he had only eight at-bats last season--Lefferts said he is working to improve his bunting and baserunning.

Outfielder James Steels isn’t guaranteed a roster spot, but it sounds as though he’s getting close.

“He works hard and he’s a battler,” Bowa said. “He does the little things, he knows how to win, and he’s a good kid. I like him a lot.”

Steels had a two-run homer in the seventh inning Friday night, and he drove in two runs Saturday. He is hitting .448 this spring with two homers and eight runs batted in.

Goose Gossage, who was scheduled to pitch Saturday, was scratched because of a problem with an ingrown hair affecting his right eye. His status is day-to-day.

Tony Gwynn sat out another game with a pulled rib muscle, and pitcher Greg Booker remained sidelined with soreness in a ligament in his right arm.

The Padres released catcher Frank Castro, bringing the number of players in camp to 43 (37 roster and six nonroster players). More cuts are expected Monday.

Today’s game against Cleveland, which begins at 12:05 PST, will be televised on KUSI, Ch. 51.