Santiago Gets a Hit, Padres Get a Loss : Rookie Catcher Runs Hitting Streak to 34; San Diego’s Skid at 9 as Dodgers Win, 10-3

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, in front of 15,114 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The Padres haven’t lost that many in 13 years, since Aug. 28-Sept. 6, 1974. The Dodgers, meanwhile, cinched 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,” said Dodger catcher Mike Scioscia. “It’s important for us to win games.”

The Dodgers were led by Mike Marshall’s 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.

But only one of those things mattered Friday. And 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 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, 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 Ken Landreaux, who had a 31-game hitting streak for the Minnesota Twins in 1980, could only offer this advice: “All I can tell him is to take it one day (at a time). He can’t help but think about it all the time. But, if I was him, I would just keep doing what he’s doing, swing free.”

And swing early. Friday’s hit earned Santiago a fifth-inning exit. Once again, reporters were brought to the clubhouse during the middle of the game for a quick interview, and, by the end of the game, he was dressed and walking out the clubhouse door.

The only question was, why did Manager Larry Bowa leave him in that long?

“He’s tired, but I’ve got to be realistic,” Bowa said. “I mean, we were still in the game.”

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.”

Padre Manager Larry Bowa still hasn’t decided on his season-ending starting pitcher Sunday against the Dodgers’ Shawn Hillegas. It will likely be reliever Lance McCullers or reliever Mark Davis. “I’m going to wait to make a decision,” said Bowa, who waited until 10 minutes before batting practice Friday to announce Friday’s lineup, hoping to stir up a little intensity. . . . 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.

LONGEST HITTING STREAKS

Player Team Year No. Joe DiMaggio New York (A) 1941 56 Willie Keeler Baltimore (N) 1897 44 Pete Rose Cincinnati 1978 44 Bill Dahlen Chicago (N) 1894 42 George Sisler St. Louis (A) 1922 41 Ty Cobb Detroit 1911 40 Paul Molitor Milwaukee 1987 39 Tommy Holmes Boston (N) 1945 37 Bill Hamilton Philadelphia 1894 36 Ty Cobb Detroit 1917 35 Fred Clarke Louisville 1895 35 Benito Santiago San Diego 1987 34 Dom DiMaggio Boston (A) 1949 34 George McQuinn St. Louis (A) 1938 34 George Sisler St. Louis (A) 1925 34

NOTE: All statistics are for a single season.