Padres Walk to a 3-2 Victory Over Dodgers

Those suddenly rampaging San Diego Padres, who definitely know what it’s like to lose and look notoriously bad in doing so, probably could relate to how the Dodgers felt here Tuesday night.

It had to be unsettling enough to the Dodgers that they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Padres, the worst baseball has to offer, but the way they did it seems alternately embarrassing and infuriating.

Another offensively deficient Dodger effort was compounded by the fact they let the Padres literally walk away with the win. It extended San Diego’s winning streak to a season-high four games.

With the teams tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the seventh, Dodger reliever Alejandro Pena walked Randy Ready with the bases loaded, scoring Garry Templeton to give the Padres a one-run lead that reliever Rich (Goose) Gossage would not relinquish.

A crowd of 22,968 at Jack Murphy Stadium reveled in this one-night role reversal, giving the Padres a standing ovation when Templeton crossed home plate and crooning “Gooooose” during the Dodgers’ final two at bats.

In a season of frustrations and false starts, Tuesday’s game may have been at the top of the demoralization scale.

It was the Dodgers’ fifth loss in the last six games and lowered their record to 29-34.

The Padres, though still entrenched in the West cellar, have now won seven of their last 11. The last time San Diego won four straight was a year ago this week.

“I’m disappointed, that’s all I can say,” Manager Tom Lasorda said. “We had a chance to win this game.”

“It’s frustrating to lose that way,” Dodger catcher Mike Scioscia added. “We’ve got a good ball club and we’re just not playing the way we can.

“San Diego is hot right now, but we had the opportunities and didn’t do it.”

The Padres’ seventh-inning rally might be their most memorable in a while, even though it hardly looked impressive. They used a walk and subsequent balk, two intentional walks and then a bases-loaded walk to take a 3-2 lead.

It was an inning that probably had Lasorda wondering why he thought Pena could be an effective short reliever.

Pena had all sorts of trouble in relief of starter Rick Honeycutt, and yet he almost was bailed out of the mess by an outstanding defensive play by right fielder Mike Marshall and Scioscia.

With Shane Mack on second after a walk and Pena’s disputed balk, Lasorda decided to intentionally walk Templeton to give the Dodgers a double play opportunity with one out.

But Tim Flannery, the Padres’ pinch-hitter, singled to right, apparently deep enough to score Mack. But Marshall scooped up the ball on the run and fired a one-bounce throw to Scioscia, who blocked the plate with his usual excellence.

“It was a perfect throw by Mike,” Scioscia said. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had much of a play.” That long-distance put-out put Pena one out from escaping damage in the seventh. But Lasorda chose to intentionally walk Stan Jefferson to load the bases for Ready.

Pena quickly had two strikes on Ready, but the Padre second baseman eventually worked the count to 3 and 2. Pena then threw a low, outside fastball for ball four that forced in Templeton for the go-head run.

That was all for Pena--and the Dodgers.

Padre Manager Larry Bowa brought in Gossage, a reliever who truly knows how to relieve.

Gossage, who has pitched 11 scoreless innings, struck out Pedro Guerrero, Marshall and Franklin Stubbs in the eighth inning. At one point in the inning, Gossage threw eight straight strikes.

In the ninth, Gossage wavered a bit before earning his fourth save. He gave up a leadoff single to Mickey Hatcher, but the Padres responded by turning a double play on a Scioscia grounder. Then, Mariano Duncan doubled to center, but pinch-hitter Jeff Hamilton struck out to end the game.

The win went to set-up man Lance McCullers (3-3), who has a win and a save in his last four appearances. McCullers has allowed just three hits and has recorded nine strikeouts in his last 9 innings.

“Our pitching has been our strength lately,” Bowa said. “We’re getting our pitchers runs early, too, and that makes them relax.”

Padre starter Eric Show was handed an early 2-0 lead, thanks to two-out rallies in the first and third innings off Honeycutt. Both times, Tony Gwynn and Carmelo Martinez did the damage. Gwynn had singles in both the first and third, while Martinez responded with a run-scoring double in the first and an RBI single in the third.

But Show was not able to hold back the Dodgers, who, as it turned out, held themselves back much better. Their woeful pinch-hitting corps was its usual self, going 0 for 4.

The Dodgers scored first in the fifth inning when Honeycutt brought home Alex Trevino, who had doubled and advanced to third on Dave Anderson’s single, on a squeeze bunt.

An inning later, the Dodgers had a chance to break open the game. Instead, they broke down. John Shelby led off with a double, and Guerrero reached first on Mitchell’s fielding error. Marshall’s double to left scored Shelby, tying it, 2-2, and moved Guerrero to third.

Bowa then called on Craig Lefferts and McCullers, who silenced Dodger bats in that inning.

Dodger Notes

Speculation mounts that right fielder Mike Marshall will ask to be traded, simply because Marshall will not say why he wants his agent, Jerry Kapstein, to meet with Fred Claire, the Dodger vice president. As of game time Tuesday night, Kapstein and Claire had not met. Claire said he might have a comment after he meets with Kapstein, either late Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. “Whatever Jerry has to say, I’ll listen to,” Claire said. “He just said he wants to get together. From our standpoint, we don’t want to raise the visibility (of the meeting).” . . . Sources said the snag that prevented free agent relief pitcher Terry Forster from signing with the Dodgers was a clause in his contract concerning the Dodgers’ right to release Forster if he did not make the club’s major league roster by a certain date. Forster instead signed with the Minnesota Twins and is in the minors working into shape. . . . The Dodgers said Tuesday that Len Matuszek, who soon will face surgery to remove a bone on the inner side of his left ankle, was not hurt because of his rehabilitation for torn tissue under the foot. Rather, the Dodgers said the nerve problem part of the original injury. “It is not a new injury,” physical therapist Pat Screnar said. . . . Manager Tom Lasorda said the Dodgers will keep Tim Leary as the fifth starting pitcher, at least for another start. Leary is scheduled to pitch Saturday in Houston. . . . Reliever Matt Young (strained left elbow ligament) threw for 12 minutes in the bullpen before Tuesday’s game. Young said he threw hard fastballs, sliders and forkballs. “The first couple of times I threw (sliders) I felt pain, but I pitched through it,” Young said.