Santiago’s Streak at 31 Games : Rookie Hits Homer in 8th, but Padres Fall to Giants, 5-3

He has kept it going with bleeders, choppers, bouncers, bloopers, liners and luck.

It being the only legal method remaining, Tuesday Benito Santiago extended his hitting streak with dramatics.

In the eighth inning, in his final at-bat in a 5-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants, with 11,411 fans standing and cheering, with the strains of his trademark song “Benny and the Jets” still echoing around San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, Santiago stretched his hitting streak to 31 games with a ball that he’ll be seeing all winter.

A two-run homer. On the first pitch from Scott Garrelts. Left-fielder Jeffrey Leonard froze. The ball hit the first row of left-field seats. Santiago fairly jumped, and then thrust his right, orange-wristbanded fist into the air. He rounded the bases and the fans wouldn’t sit down. He went into the dugout and they still wouldn’t sit.

He came out and waved his helmet for one of the first curtain calls this season. A curtain call when most everyone in the park, including Santiago, thought his streak was curtains.

“After my third at-bat, I thought the streak would be over with,” said Santiago, who before the game was moved into the unfamiliar second spot in the batting order by Manager Larry Bowa, thinking it might give him an extra at-bat.

Turns out he would have had four at-bats anyway, but for only the fourth time during the streak, he needed all four. For only the third time, it came in the eighth inning or later.

“I was glad to get that last chance,” the rookie said. “I went up there looking for a fastball, he gave me one, and I jumped on it. I never go up trying to hit the ball so far. It just happened.”

Give some credit to Garrelts, the three-year veteran, for giving Santiago a chance.

“I could have stopped him very easily by throwing nothing he could hit,” Garrelts said. “But I wanted to make him earn it.”

If nothing else, the first-pitch hit rewarded the impatience that cost Santiago in his earlier three at-bats.

In the first inning, he grounded out to shortstop Matt Williams on the first pitch.

In the fourth, same grounder, same shortstop, same pitch.

In the fifth, he fell behind starter Kelly Downs, 0 and 2, then fouled off three pitches before flying out to center fielder Randy Kutcher.

If anything will stop Santiago’s streak, it is not the much-publicized weariness of catching 141 of 157 games thus far. It is this increasing inability to stay off the trigger.

“In my first three at-bats, I really felt the pressure on me,” he said. “I was really trying to pull the ball. I finally relaxed.”

His teammates noticed.

“That’s what has really impressed me about him during all this,” shortstop Garry Templeton said. “He can become so calm out there.”

Santiago’s streak has already set the major league record for catchers and rookies. Tuesday was noteworthy because he passed Kansas City’s George Brett to move into third place among streaks in the 1980s.

Now, he would just like to finish the year with say, oh, a hit in each of the final five games, giving him 36 straight. That way, he could come out next season and hit in about the first 20 games and really foul up the record keepers at Elias Sports Bureau, who have vowed that any streak covering two seasons cannot be considered in the same class as Joe DiMaggio’s record 56-game mark. Fittingly, after breaking so many records this season, next he could create one of his own.

“Shoot, there’s only five or six games left,” said Santiago. “I figure, I hit in 31, I can hit in five or six more.”

Excuse Bowa if he wasn’t doing cartwheels Tuesday night. For the first time this season, he closed his office door for five minutes after the game to allow his anger to cool. The Padres have lost six straight. Tuesday, the Giants, adhering to the usual procedure one day after clinching a pennant, started four rookies, including three recent minor league recalls who didn’t have a hit this season. The Padres were outhit, 7-6, and committed two errors and other mental blunders.

“Benny is something, but so is this team,” said a disgusted Bowa. “Excuse me, but his streak is not the most important thing on my mind right now. Right now, for most of them, baseball is the farthest from their mind, which is sad.

“My job is to win, not applaud streaks and forget losses. I hope Benny hits in 100 games in a row. But my job is winning, and we’re not doing it.”

The Padres only took 2 hours 11 minutes to lose Tuesday, helped by an awful outing by Jimmy Jones (three innings, four hits, two earned runs) and two Randy Ready errors at third base that each led to runs.

Padre Notes

Deacon Jones, one of two remaining Padre coaches who have been with the club since the 1984 league championship season, is leaving the team at the end of the season. Jones, who has been the Padres’ hitting coach for the past four seasons, informed General Manager Jack McKeon Monday afternoon that he is resigning effective Oct. 4.

PADRES AT A GLANCE

Scorecard SECOND INNING Giants--Reid homered to center, his first. Kutcher tripled to right. Wassinger reached first on a fielder’s choice and took second on third baseman Ready’s throwing error, Kutcher scoring. Manwaring grounded to short, Wassinger taking third. Downs flied to left, Wassinger scoring. Leonard lined to short. Three runs, two hits, one error.

THIRD INNING

Giants--Williams walked. Melendez singled to right, Williams taking third with Melendez taking second on the throw. Spilman grounded to first, Williams scoring with Melendez taking third. Reid reached first on a fielder’s choice with Melendez out at home. Kutcher flied to right. One run, one hit, one left.

FOURTH INNING

Padres--With two out, Ready singled to center. Byers singled to left, Ready taking third. Abner singled to center, Ready scoring with Byers stopping at second. Templeton walked, loading the bases. Cora flied to left. One run, three hits, three left.

FIFTH INNING

Giants--With one out, Melendez singled to right. Spilman grounded to third, Melendez stopping at second. Reid walked. Kutcher reached second on third baseman Ready’s throwing error, Melendez scoring with Reid taking third. Wassinger grounded to short. One run (unearned), one hit, one error, two left.

EIGHTH INNING

Padres--Mack walked. Santiago homered to left, his 18th. Kruk flied to left. Ready grounded to second. Byers struck out. Two runs, one hit.