Kruk’s Single Lifts Padres Over Astros in 10th Inning, 4-3

The red-hot bat of John Kruk came to the Padres’ rescue again Saturday night.

Kruk hit a home run in the seventh inning. He singled and scored the tying run in the ninth on Benito Santiago’s single. And he singled in the winning run in the 10th as the Padres rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Kruk’s single to left field in the 10th came off Dave Meads in front of a crowd of 20,466, which sent the Padres’ home paid attendance over a million. With one out, Tony Gwynn walked and Shane Mack singled. When Kruk’s drive fell safely, Gwynn scored easily.

The three hits raised Kruk’s batting average, now second best in the National League, to .344. He passed Pedro Guerrero of the Dodgers by one point.

Kruk now has a .474 average for the week, with four home runs and 12 runs batted in. He says the sweetest hit of all was the one that broke the tie and made Goose Gossage the winning pitcher Saturday night.

“I like that situation,” he said. “It’s a challenge. That’s why people play the game.”

The victory was the Padres’ fourth in a row and pulled them within 5 1/2 games of fifth place in the National League West.

The Padres were docile for eight innings against Nolan Ryan and Larry Andersen. They collected just four hits and didn’t score a run until Kruk opened the seventh with his 15th home run of the season. Ryan was removed from the game.

Dave Smith took the mound for the Astros in the ninth to try to secure Ryan’s 258th major league victory. Smith had a 2-0 record, 19 saves and an earned-run average of 0.80. He hadn’t lost a game since the Padres beat him here last Sept. 13.

But Smith didn’t have it this time. Carmelo Martinez and Kruk both singled, and Mack ran for Martinez at second base. Chris Brown sacrificed, and then Santiago lined Smith’s first pitch to center field for the runs that eventually sent the game into extra innings.

But the Padres almost won the game then and there in the ninth. After Santiago stole second on Garry Templeton’s strikeout and Tim Flannery drew an intentional pass, pinch-hitter Randy Ready flied out.

The amazing Ryan, 40 years old and still blessed with a 95-m.p.h. fastball, is saddled with an eight-game losing streak and a 4-13 record. But he has pitched much better than that, and he held a 3-1 lead when he turned over the ball to Andersen after Kruk’s home run. He shut out the Padres on two hits through six innings, striking out six batters to run his all-time record total to 4,448.

“He’s an absolute marvel,” Astro Manager Hal Lanier said. “He works harder than any other pitcher we have, and he keeps himself in remarkable shape.”

Mark Grant turned in his best performance in five outings since he made his Padre debut July 11 with a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Against the Pirates, the one run he gave up in seven innings was unearned.

Wildness was Grant’s undoing this time. In both of the Astros’ scoring innings, the second and sixth, he opened the door with walks. In the second, he also threw a wild pitch with runners on first and third.

The second began with a walk to Alan Ashby, the once light-hitting catcher who now bats cleanup against right-handed pitchers. Ashby moved to second on Kevin Bass’ single, took third when Denny Walling tapped into a force out and scored on Grant’s wild pitch. Craig Reynolds’ single then made it 2-0.

Grant survived a single by Billy Hatcher and a walk to Ashby in the third. He retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth, but was aided in the latter inning by two fielding gems by Templeton at shortstop and one by Gwynn in right field. Templeton roamed into the second base position to throw out Ryan, Gwynn robbed Gerald Young of extra bases with a leaping catch at the top of the wall, and Templeton made a nice running catch of Hatcher’s foul.

Grant had two men out in the sixth, thanks to a double play after a lead-off single by Bill Doran, before walking Bass. Walling’s double into the right-field corner sent Bass home with the run that made it 3-0.

After that, Grant left for a pinch-hitter. As it turned out, Ryan lasted just one batter longer. The Padres appeared to have something going when Brown greeted Andersen by beating out a bouncer to third baseman Ken Caminiti. But Brown strayed too far off first on Santiago’s line drive to second baseman Doran, and he was doubled up easily.

For the beleaguered Astros, the reprieve was only temporary. Gossage pitched a perfect 10th, and then the Padres nicked Meads for the run that sent the fans home happy.

Padre Notes

The Padres’ Benito Santiago committed a baserunning blunder in the second inning when he tried to go from second to third on Garry Templeton’s bounder to pitcher Nolan Ryan. Santiago was caught in a rundown and was an easy out. . . . The 40-year-old Ryan is known mainly for a fastball that is still clocked at about 95 m.p.h., but he also has an outstanding curveball. Astro coach Denis Menke said, “His curve is one of the best. Sandy Koufax had the greatest curve I ever hit against, but Ryan’s is right up there. Koufax also threw about 95, although he didn’t look that fast because he had such an easy motion.”