Padre Notebook : Gwynn Loses Stitches in Time to Swing Before 9; He May Make Opener

When Padre Manager Larry Bowa was told that right fielder Tony Gwynn would have the six stitches removed from his left hand Saturday morning, he figured it would not be long before Gwynn was swinging a bat again.

“Knowing Tony,” Bowa said, “he’ll be hitting at one minute after midnight.”

He was off by only a few hours.

By 8:45 a.m., just 15 minutes after the stitches were removed, Gwynn was knocking the first of two buckets of balls off a hitting tee. By late morning, he was taking his first batting practice since an operation March 11 to relieve pressure on a tendon in his left index finger.

All of this from a player who as late as Friday said he was going to take it easy and did not plan to participate in batting practice for at least several days.

Gwynn, who declined to comment on the condition of his hand, did not appear to be in any discomfort during the abbreviated batting practice session. His two attending physicians from the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Dr. Jon Fronek and Dr. Merlin Hamer, said Gwynn did not complain of pain.

“But I’m not sure he’d tell us if he did,” Hamer said, smiling. “Any ballplayer wants to get playing.”

Gwynn’s stoicism aside, Hamer said he has been impressed with Gwynn’s progress. Asked what Gwynn’s chances were of being in the starting lineup April 5 at Houston, Hamer replied: “Quite good.”

That is a substantial improvement from just last week, when Hamer said that Gwynn, a two-time National League batting champion, might not be ready for game action for four to six weeks.

“We like to be cautious,” Hamer said.

Hamer said that as long as Gwynn does not complain of pain or aggravate the incision area, he will be permitted to gradually increase his physical activity.

“Anytime you have an incision, it can become tender and swollen,” Hamer said. “We’ll just have him do a little more each day.”

Gwynn hit the ball sharply, spraying a mix of grounders and line drives. His return was witnessed by one of the larger camp crowds of the season, as many have made the drive from San Diego to take in the Padres’ second of three spring training weekends in Yuma. But none of those watching him was more interested in Gwynn’s progress than Bowa.

“I just wanted to see that he was in no pain,” Bowa said. “That was all I cared about.”

The Padres made their first cuts of spring training Saturday, reducing the number of players in camp by nine to 36.

Cut were infielder Gary Green, catchers Mike Basso and Craig Wiley, outfielders Jerald Clark and Thomas Howard and pitchers Matt Maysey, Joel McKeon, Todd Simmons and Ed Vosberg.

All have been sent to the Padres’ minor league camp for reassignment.

The Padres must reduce their roster to 24 by opening day. Bowa said he had no date set for his next round of cuts but said he would like to have his final roster fixed when the team breaks camp Saturday and leaves for Palm Springs for four exhibition games against the Angels.

The cuts left the Padres with 13 pitchers. Bowa said he was leaning toward keeping 10.

The Padres’ three-game winning streak was broken Saturday afternoon by the Cleveland Indians, 7-3, in front of a capacity crowd of 6,874 at Desert Sun Stadium.

Mark Grant (1-1) started and took the loss, allowing four runs and five hits in five innings.

“I got the ball up too high,” Grant said. “I made some good pitches, so I don’t want to leave today on a negative. But I didn’t pitch the way I should.”

Despite Grant’s self-criticism, Bowa said he was pleased with his game, noting that the Indians started a stronger lineup than they did Friday in a 5-1 Padre victory.

Greg Harris, the Padres’ minor league pitcher of the year the past two seasons, followed Grant with two shutout innings of relief, striking out four.

The Padres (8-8) scored twice in the seventh to draw within 4-3, but the Indians (8-9) scored three runs off Keith Comstock in the eighth to pull away.

Padre Notes

Joan Kroc, Padre owner, viewed her first spring training game of the year. . . . Indian shortstop Julio Franco had an unusual groundout in the third inning. He hit the ball so hard it knocked the covering half off. Padre shortstop Garry Templeton was able to field it and make the throw to first for the out. Franco pleaded with Doug Harvey, first base umpire, for the ball, but Harvey kept it for further inspection. . . . Roberto Alomar drove in a run with a seventh-inning double in his last at-bat to extend his hitting streak to seven games, matching Benito Santiago for the Padres’ longest of spring training. But John Kruk went 0 for 4 and had a six-game hitting streak stopped. . . . The seven runs allowed by the Padres were their most since a 13-10 loss to Oakland nine games earlier. . . . The Padres’ home stand continues today with a 12:05 p.m. game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Ed Whitson (1-0, 4.50 ERA) will start for the Padres, who have won their previous two exhibition games against the Brewers. Eric Nolte earned both decisions.