Kruk Proves Good in Pinch Despite Injury

John Kruk was getting tired of sitting, and on Wednesday, he did something about it.

Kruk, the Padres’ second-leading hitter, had aggravated a sore right knee in Friday’s game against the San Francisco Giants and wasn’t able to contribute to his suddenly hot team’s winning streak.

“It’s hard to sit there and see everyone hitting,” Kruk said. “I thought I was Wally Pipp reincarnated.”

But unlike the New York Yankees of 1925, the Padres do not have a Lou Gehrig waiting in the wings. They need all the help they can get. On Wednesday against the Dodgers, it was Kruk’s turn to contribute.

Manager Larry Bowa called on Kruk to pinch-hit for Shane Mack with two out and two on base in the seventh inning and the Padres trailing, 7-6.

“I was nervous,” Kruk said. “It felt like my first at-bat of the season. Maybe I should be scared more often.”

Maybe he should. Kruk got behind Dodger reliever Ken Howell, 0-and-2. But on the third pitch, he hit a ground ball up the middle, scoring Carmelo Martinez and Benito Santiago and giving the Padres an 8-7 lead that held up. It was Kruk’s first game-winning RBI of the season.

“I thought they would pitch around me,” he said. “I’ve been swinging at bad pitches. But he threw me a slider.”

“He’s been wanting to play,” Bowa said. “We didn’t want him as a baserunner, so with two out, it was the perfect situation.”

Kruk limped to first base but said his knee was feeling better. He originally injured the knee two weeks ago in Montreal when he slipped on a wet tarp. After he aggravated it Friday, he couldn’t walk when he woke up Saturday morning. But he expects to be ready to start by Saturday’s game against the Giants.

Kruk, who is batting second on the team behind Tony Gwynn with a .346 average, had been 0 for his last 17.

“I thought I was never going to get a hit again,” Kruk said. “I’ve been doing everything Tony Gwynn has told me not to do (during the slump).”

Kruk said Gwynn has been advising him. Bowa also noted Gwynn’s influence on Kruk.

“He (Kruk) is developing good work habits,” Bowa said. “He’s come a long way.”

Kruk is 3 for 6 with three RBIs as a pinch-hitter this season. He said that although he would rather play nine innings, he enjoyed the role.

‘It’s kind of fun to jog to the plate, hit the ball, jog to first and be done,” he said.

He likened the pressure situation to being in the bullpen.

“It’s a do-or-die situation,” he said. “If I had to do it all the time, I’d probably die of a heart attack when I’m 35, but it might be fun until then.”