Padre Notes

Right fielder Tony Gwynn, returning to the lineup after missing two games with a strained left hamstring, went 2 for 3 and scored the Padres’ first run. Gwynn leads the National League in hits with 82 as well as average at .363. Also, he is hitting .395 against left-hand pitchers. Both hits Tuesday night came against Dodger starter Rick Honeycutt, a left-hander. . . . John Kruk missed his third straight game with a sore right knee. Kruk was examined Monday by Padre physicians at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla. The Padres said Kruk will rest the knee for “a couple days.” . . . Although Padre starter Eric Show lasted only five innings Tuesday night, allowing two runs and six hits, he has a 2.06 earned-run average in his last five starts. . . . Randy Ready’s third-inning hit extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games.

Speculation mounts that Dodger 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 singing 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 tissues 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 and said he is ready to pitch as soon as today, if his elbow responds overnight. 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.