Kidding Aside, Padres Win, 6-2

Welcome to the land of orange and brash. Welcome to the place where, judging by the DiamondVision screen in left field, baseball’s defending world champions have become part team, part music video.

The New York Mets, winners of 15 of their last 23 games and suddenly within a shout of first place in the National League East, invited the last-place Padres into their pennant race Friday.

And those Padres. They were children. In front of 41,088 at Shea Stadium, Garry Templeton played in the dirt, Tony Gwynn played on the fence, Tim Flannery played hopscotch at second base and Manager Larry Bowa played so petulant with the umpires, they sent him home early.

The Mets stared, scoffed and finally threw up their hands as the Padres giggled to a 6-2 victory that may endure as one of their best games this season.

“I don’t care if we lose 100 games this year, I’m convinced that this team will scratch and claw and not quit,” Bowa said.

Funny he should mention that. In their second victory in four games on this six-game Eastern trip, the Padres improved their record to 50-72, meaning they need to win only 13 of their last 40 games to avoid losing 100. That was once thought a certainty on a team formerly considered to be one of the the worst in baseball history. With those 13 victories, they won’t even be the worst team in Padre history.

“I guess our pride is at stake, more or less,” said pitcher Jimmy Jones, who made it through six innings and didn’t allow a run, even though the Mets put the leadoff runner on base in five of those innings (eight of nine overall).

“Whatever it is, we’re jelling unbelievably. Like Larry said, we would go through a wall for him, for everybody. That’s why we’re winning.”

Put aside all those nifty fielding plays that saved Jones, (6-4, 4.45 earned-run average), who last week against Cincinnati wasn’t trusted to hold an 11-3 lead in the fourth inning.

Take a look at the inning in which Bowa made it clear where his club gets its steam.

With two out and none on in the Padre fifth, John Kruk stepped to the plate. Just two innings earlier, he had put Ron Darling’s fourth pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run home run that helped the Padres to a 3-0 lead. In his last at-bat against Darling in May, Kruk had also homered.

Darling, frustrated while trying to get his ninth win in his last 11 starts, wanted to make sure Kruk knew he had not forgotten any of it. His first pitch sailed directly at Kruk’s head. Kruk barely snapped back and out of the way.

However, that wasn’t Bowa’s problem. In these days of retaliation and 90-m.p.h. message-sending, that pitch was expected.

His problem was that home plate umpire Steve Rippley, a vacation substitute, did not issue Darling a warning. He ignored the location of the pitch, simply calling “Ball one.”

He could not ignore Bowa. The manager walked a few steps from the dugout and asked Rippley if he was going to issue a warning. The manager spent the next five minutes not taking “No” for an answer.

Gesturing toward left field, where Kruk’s home run had landed, Bowa charged Rippley and spent several seconds face-to-face before Rippley pointed toward the dugout and threw him out.

Recounted Gwynn: “Everybody on the bench shouted, ‘Get your money’s worth.’ ”

This is when Bowa really got mad. He threw down his cap. He walked circles around Rippley. He jumped in the umpire’s face, and Rippley started shouting that Bowa was “bumping” him. While the television replays showed contact, it was difficult to tell how much.

Regardless, the only thing that worked harder than Bowa’s jaws were his eyes.

“It was awesome,” Gwynn said. “Eyes wild, head going crazy. It was just like one of our early clubhouse meetings.”

Bowa finally left the field and went to a nice, safe hiding spot in the visitors’ dugout. It was only Bowa’s fourth ejection this season, his first since May 20.

“No matter what I say about these guys (Padres), one thing they’ll know is, I’ll fight for them,” Bowa said. “I’m not saying Darling was throwing at him or not, I’m just telling the umpire, be consistent, either everyone in the league gives warnings or nobody should.

“Maybe the umpire thought we were going to play dead because we were 13 (actually 13 1/2 games) out. Maybe he thought we don’t care.”

To Bowa’s players, there’s no longer doubt about that.

“I’m glad he fought for me, because I go out to the mound, I’m out of the game,” Kruk said. “I can’t be starting anything.”

Anyway, the Padres spent most of the game ending things.

Take the third inning. Rafael Santana led off with the Mets’ first hit, a single, and moved to second on a Darling bunt. From the top of the order, Len Dykstra hit a grounder deep into the hole at shortstop. It looked like a base hit that would get the Mets a run and get them rolling.

Except somehow Templeton stretched and scooped while his body was inches from the grass, then righted himself and easily threw out a stunned Santana at third.

“Unbelievable,” Bowa said.

“I got a good jump,” Templeton said. “I saw Rafael out of the corner of my eye. He thought for sure it was a base hit.”

Just one batter later, in the fourth inning, was another play rated “unbelievable” by Bowa. After Wally Backman had drawn a leadoff walk, bringing up the heart of the order, Keith Hernandez hit a shot up the middle for what seemed a certain single. But second baseman Flannery hopped in front of it and backhanded it on the short hop while his body was still in mid-air. He maintained control enough to throw to Templeton to start the rally-ending double play.

“I’d like to see it because I never saw it,” Flannery said. “They say luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Not tonight. Tonight was just luck.”

The very next batter, Darryl Strawberry, sent a deep fly to right. More trouble. But Gwynn threw his body against the wall and caught it on a fly.

“I’d like to say it was great, but I just miscounted my steps,” Gwynn said. “I didn’t know there was a wall there, and if Stanley (center fielder Jefferson) had told me there was, I never would have caught it.”