Padres, in a Hurry, Lose to the Braves, 4-2

The battle to stay out of last place in the National League West Division took on two different points of view Tuesday night as the Atlanta Braves, behind the major league debut of pitcher Pete Smith, beat the Padres, 4-2.

Padre Manager Larry Bowa, incensed that his hitters were less than patient while trailing late in the game, said: “We don’t play the scoreboard. Our guys don’t think. That’s why we are in last place. It looks like I’m going to have to put on the take sign, even though they should know not to swing in those situations. We have to lead them by the hand.”

Brave Manager Chuck Tanner, meanwhile, talked about building for two years down the road. He mentioned patience and riding out hard times, and he had high compliments for Smith, a 21-year-old right-hander just up from Double-A who needed only one more out to go the distance.

“The kid was outstanding,” Tanner said. “He went right after them. That showed me something.”

Smith, one of several players called up by the Braves this month, allowed only six singles, survived a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the sixth when the Padres could manage but one run, struck out four and walked only two in front of 2,701 in Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

“He (Smith) was impressive. He kept our hitters off balance all night,” Bowa said.

Smith, 9-9 at Greenville of the Double-A Southern League, has come back from a rotator cuff injury, which was repaired by the same doctor who helped rehabilitate Boston’s Roger Clemens.

Smith received the offense he needed from Dale Murphy, who hit his career-high 38th homer with two on in the first inning off loser Ed Whitson (10-11) and accounted for the Braves’ other run with a sacrifice fly in the third.

Murphy’s homer followed singles by rookie Ron Gant and Cleon James. Murphy’s lifetime batting average against Whitson is .321, and the home run is Murphy’s sixth against the Padre right-hander.

Smith retired the first 11 Padres he faced until John Kruk’s single in the fourth. Brave shortstop Jeff Blauser flagged it with a dive but could not complete the play. Smith got the next four batters before running into trouble in the sixth.

A walk to Tim Flannery and successive hits by pinch-hitter Joey Cora and Tony Gwynn loaded the bases, but Stanley Jefferson’s sacrifice fly produced the inning’s only run. Smith got Kruk to chase a 2-2 fastball away and struck out Benito Santiago with a fastball inside.

Smith owned the Padres until the ninth, when singles by Santiago--extending his hitting streak to 13 games--Chris Brown and Garry Templeton produced a run around a couple of outs. Jim Acker came on to retire Flannery.

Padre Notes Pete Smith was thrown-in when the Braves obtained catcher Ozzie Virgil in a deal with the Phillies for pitcher Steve Bedrosian and outfielder Milt Thompson in 1985. . . . The Padres announced they have completed the trade with Oakland by obtaining first baseman Rob Nelson from the A’s for pitcher Storm Davis. Nelson, 23, hit .215 at Tacoma, with 20 homers and 70 RBIs. The Padres also received pitcher Dave Leiper last week as part of the trade. . . . Ed Whitson had won three straight road games before Tuesday. . . . Rookie Shawn Abner made his first appearance for the Padres, pinch-hitting and flying out in the eighth. Abner signed a football scholarship with the University of Georgia in 1984, but opted for professional baseball with the Mets.