Dodgers Unable to Stop Santiago, but Win

For the first time Friday, San Diego rookie catcher Benito Santiago admitted that this small matter of a hitting streak is beginning to drive him bonkers.

This may account for the fact that if you were 15 minutes late for the Padres’ game with the Dodgers, you missed him extending it.

In the first inning, 13 minutes after the first pitch, Santiago hit Fernando Valenzuela’s fifth pitch into the left-field corner, used a neat slide to turn it into a double, and then stood and doffed his helmet to a standing ovation caused mainly because fans hadn’t yet found their seats.

That makes 34 straight games, tying the ninth-longest streak in baseball history. The only question remaining is, whose streak will last longer, his base hits or the Padres’ losses.

Santiago left the game after five innings, and the Dodgers handed the Padres their season-high ninth straight loss, 10-3, before 15,114 fans at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The Padres haven’t lost that many in 13 years, since Aug. 28 through Sept. 6, 1974. The Dodgers, meanwhile, clinched fourth-place in the National League West, which if nothing else represents a spot higher than last year.

“It’s not important for us to try and stop (Santiago’s) streak, that’s not why we’re here,” Dodger catcher Mike Scioscia said. “It’s important for us to win games.”

The Dodgers were led by Mike Marshall with three hits and three RBIs, including his 16th homer. John Shelby hit his career-high 21st homer. And Pedro Guerrero’s two-run single to center in the fourth extended his hitting streak to 15 straight.

Meanwhile, Santiago, who hasn’t found a hit until his last at-bat in three of his previous six games, finally decided he wanted to just get it and forget it. For only the sixth time in this streak, and for the first time since he was moved to No. 2 in the batting order, he got that hit in the first inning.

“It was good news, it was good for me,” said Santiago, who swung at Valenzuela’s first screwball, then took a low pitch, and then swung at another screwball, then took another pitch before getting his hit.

“You can’t get behind him, even though he is a free swinger,” said Scioscia. You’ve got to try to get him to hit your pitch.”

And then you’ve got to remind him about everything that’s happening. For the first time, Santiago said he’s actually losing sleep over this thing.

“My life is pretty much the same except . . . the phone in my house is ringing every five minutes,” said the 22-year-old Puerto Rican. “And no, I don’t have a public phone. Every call is for me. I’ve got fans calling. I’ve got reporters from Puerto Rico calling.

“It is different hour here than in Puerto Rico. It is noon in Puerto Rico, it is 9 in the morning here. I tell them, let me sleep, call after noon and I will talk to them all day.”

When he finally does wake up, usually sometime in the early afternoon, he must then contend with somebody who is really excited about the streak.

“My two-year-old daughter (Bennybeth), it is like having 10 men in the house,” he said. “She is running around, screaming, playing, getting on everything. Maybe she knows what’s happening. My daughter, she is crazy.”

Dodger Notes

Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who concluded his season with a 13-14 record by allowing two runs on five hits in six innings, said: “My arm is fine. Now I have a six-month rest before my next start.” . . . Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda says he has not talked to owner Peter O’Malley yet about Lasorda’s uncertain future. “A few players asked me (about returning) and I tell them, ‘I’m going to be here,’ ” Lasorda said. He added that he has “no idea” when O’Malley will make his decision, and that he has no knowledge of any clubs that have requested permission to talk to him. . . . Dodger pitcher Ken Howell, who missed a doctor’s appointment Thursday, was examined by Dr. Frank Jobe Friday. It was determined that Howell, who has soreness in his right shoulder, will throw again Monday before any surgery will be scheduled. . . . Dodger Vice President Fred Claire, on the possibility of acquiring Steve Garvey, who will not be offered a Padre contract for next season: “I really don’t want to talk about that. He is under contract, and we have a lot of immediate considerations and decisions with over 40-man rosters.” . . . The Dodgers’ Franklin Stubbs underwent surgery Friday morning to repair a dislocated right shoulder. He will be kept for one or two days at Centinela Hospital Medical Center. He should be able to participate in spring training. . . . The man feeling the second-most amount of pressure in Benito Santiago’s hitting streak is Padres official scorer Bill Zavestoski, who has yet to have a close call. “And I would prefer not to have one,” said Zavestoski, who has scored for four seasons.