Montreal Pitchers Real Pain for Padres

It was a painful outing.

The Padres lost their second game in a row to the Montreal Expos Thursday night, 3-0, but they weren’t the only ones in pain.

The Expos’ pitchers were hurting, too.

The Padres were as quiet as a late September afternoon, managing just six hits in front of a crowd of only 8,446 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Montreal starter Bryn Smith, who pitched five innings, and early reliever Joe Hesketh, who pitched two, have been struggling all year against pain. But it never seems to hurt as much when they face the Padres.

Smith, who had elbow surgery last winter and has had recurring shoulder problems during his rehabilitation, is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in his four starts against the Padres this year.

Thursday night, he gave up just four hits and didn’t walk a batter. But Manager Buck Rodgers, out of consideration for Smith’s shoulder, pulled him after just five innings.

“(Smith’s) an old-school guy,” Rodgers said. “Even if he’s not 100%, he’s going to give you what he’s got. I didn’t want to push him . . . I didn’t want to milk him just to get the job done.”

So in came Hesketh for the second night in a row. The left-hander--who pitched two innings in the Expos’ victory Wednesday night and gave up one hit and one run--has had back problems and didn’t touch a baseball from July 1986 until this May.

Thursday, he pitched two innings again and gave up two hits but no runs.

Hesketh was on the mound when the Padres mounted their only serious threat of the game.

With one out, Hesketh hit Tony Gwynn in the back with a pitch. Carmelo Martinez then hit a bouncer down the third-base line that was swallowed by the stands as Gwynn crossed the plate. Because the ball got caught in a small crack between the ground and the grandstand, the hit was ruled a ground-rule double. Gwynn trotted back to third base, where he watched John Kruk strike out and Benito Santiago ground out.

“The best thing about tonight was when I needed to make a pitch I made it,” Hesketh said. “I fall behind on Kruk and try to come back with a slider. I get two strikes on him and I think if I can get get a good slider on the outside corner I got a chance. I made it and it worked. . . . I’m happy to perform in key situations.”

The Padres’ last hopes failed in the seventh when, with two out and runners on first and second, Stanley Jefferson grounded to shortstop to end the inning. Jefferson knows about the tough Expo pitchers--he’s 2 for 27 (.074) against Montreal pitching this season.

The Expos scored their runs one at a time, in the second, sixth and seventh innings. In the second, Tom Foley’s double drove home Tim Wallach. In the sixth inning, Andres Galarraga’s single scored Hubie Brooks. In the seventh, Herm Winningham scored on a single by Tim Raines.

In the eighth inning, Bob McClure relieved Hesketh and sent the Padres down in order. Andy McGaffigan pitched a perfect ninth, striking out two. In the last 16 games, Expo relievers are 7-1, with five saves and a 2.00 ERA. Tonight was only the second time in 12 wins this month that a Montreal starter (Smith) has been credited with a victory. Smith improved his record to 8-6.

Padre Manager Larry Bowa couldn’t fault his own pitchers for the loss. Jimmy Jones, who dropped to 6-5, allowed only three runs to score on the 10 hits he gave up. He also struck out five in the seven innings he pitched. Storm Davis pitched the final two innings, giving up three hits.

Padre Notes

Official scorer Bill Zavestoski, after reviewing videotapes of the Padres’ Wednesday night loss to the Expos, changed the scoring on the play that decided the game in the 12th inning. Expo Tim Wallach had a hit and a game-winning RBI taken away, and shortstop Garry Templeton got an error. Templeton bobbled Wallach’s grounder and failed to make a force out at second that would have ended the inning. The error allowed Herm Winningham to score the winning run. The run, charged to reliever Lance McCullers, becomes unearned. . . . John Kruk had his 12th stolen base Thursday. . . . Chris Brown, who has hit into 13 double plays this season (including seven with San Francisco), has hit into three double plays in the last two nights. He hit into two Wednesday and another Thursday. His 13 double plays lead the team. . . . Minor League Update: Wichita right-hander Greg Harris pitched a no-hitter Wednesday in a 7-0 victory over Midland. Wichita has also just brought up a left-hander named. . . . Greg Harris.