Hawkins Pitches 1-Hitter : Padres Shut Out Houston, 3-0, to Gain Sweep

Considering the words Andy Hawkins and no-hitter had never appeared before in the same sentence, perhaps it was understandable what happened at 2:42 p.m. Sunday when Houston’s Bill Doran poked a seventh-inning single into left field.

“I glanced up at the scoreboard and went, ‘Wait a minute, that was just their first hit?’ ” third baseman Randy Ready recounted. “I thought, ‘Hawkins was throwing a no-no? What do you know?”

Said Hawkins: “Tell you the truth, after the hit I didn’t feel anything either. I wasn’t counting on throwing a no-hitter anyway.”

Hawkins went on to provide the San Diego Padres with a 3-0 victory over the Houston Astros at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium in front of 21,380.

Not that Andy Hawkins and one-hitter have ever been typographical neighbors, either. It was the first time Hawkins, who entered with a 6.75 ERA, had thrown anything better than a three-hitter, which he did nearly four years ago.

Said Hawkins: “I was aware of the no-hitter, but only because it was the first time in a long time that I had gotten through five innings without giving up four or five hits.”

There were plenty of firsts Sunday as the Padres finished a three-game, two-straight-shutout sweep of the Astros, who came here Friday as the National League West’s first-place team, and departed as something else, mostly angry.

Said Houston Manager Hal Lanier: “I don’t know how a guy with a seven-something ERA could hold us to one single.”

What he lacked in math, he made up for in honesty, a trait which pervaded this most unusual of brilliant pitching performances.

The 12th one-hitter in Padre history, call it baseball’s first one-hitter where:

--The fans booed the pitcher.

--The pitcher’s coach threatened to take him out of the game with one out in the ninth.

--The pitcher himself sprinted off the field afterward, not sticking around to bask in the standing ovation.

“I wanted to get off the field before somebody took away my shutout,” Hawkins said, smiling.

Moments earlier, Hawkins had issued a one-out walk to Gerald Young after falling behind 3-and-0. Up stepped Billy Hatcher. Hawkins fell behind 1-and-0.

Out ran pitching coach Pat Dobson. Down in the bullpen, both Mark Davis and Lance McCullers were standing, watching, ready.

According to Dobson, the ensuing conversation went like this:

Dobson: “If you don’t get him, this is your last hitter.”

Hawkins: “Thanks. That’s a real confidence builder.”

Dobson: “If you don’t like it, then bear down, keep the ball low, and finish your damn game.”

Hawkins didn’t like it, so he did. Two pitches later he retired Hatcher on a ground out to second. Doran hit his very next pitch to first baseman Carmelo Martinez, who tossed it back to Hawkins on the base for the final out, and Hawkins first shutout in nearly two years.

“What Dobson said was like a good kick in the rear,” Hawkins said. “If he would have taken me out, man, it would have ruined my day.”

As it was, nothing anyone said could cloud Hawkins’ performance, in which he allowed just seven balls to leave the infield, and was just four batters from a perfect game. He was not to be bothered even by the fans, who after he blew a sacrifice bunt by popping out in the third, filled his ears with boos.

“The fan reaction means nothing to me,” Hawkins said. “If they want to boo a no-hitter, I could care less.”

Hawkins’ bad bunt cost the Padres a run, as Shawn Abner was forced to remain on first, where he could not score on Tony Gwynn’s ensuing single. But the rest of the offense more than made up for it with an Roberto Alomar RBI single in the fifth and eighth-inning RBIs by Marvell Wynne (triple) and Benito Santiago (surprise bunt).

“Let’s not overreact, it’s too early to say that everybody has broken out of their slumps,” said Manager Larry Bowa, whose team has gone 7-4 since beginning the season 0-5. “But what we are getting here is confidence, and that can breed winning.”

It has certainly seemed to breed good pitching, as the Astros departed having just scored one run all weekend, zero runs in their last 25 innings, and unable to move a runner as far as third base in their last 22 innings.

They capped a .149-hitting weekend Sunday by going 1-for-27 against a pitcher who came in leading the Padres in allowed-hits (23) and walks (8) besides owning their second-highest ERA.

The last time Hawkins faced the Astros, in the second game of the season, he had a no-hitter going for all of one batter. After giving up a double to No. 2 hitter Billy Hatcher in the first, he crashed and burned into 3 innings of eight-hit, five-run pitching and a loss.

Not exactly Mr. April, last year Hawkins didn’t win a game until May 17. Then he didn’t win one after June 13. Shoulder problems held him to a 3-10 record with a 5.05 ERA and just once after May 22 did he go more than six innings.

This spring he was forced to win a starting job, and didn’t like it. He hopes Sunday will be the beginning of the upholding of his point.

“I wanted to prove that I’m not just the fourth or fifth starter on this team,” Hawkins said. “I think I’m doing that.”

Sunday, he started by retiring the Astros’ first six batters on four ground outs, a strikeout, and just one fly out.

“I knew right then he had it,” pitcher Ed Whitson said. “Anytime he gets ground balls like that, he’s got it.”

After walking Craig Reynolds, he retired 11 straight before walking Gerald Young. After Young stole second, becoming the only Astro in scoring position, Hatcher hit a deep fly that Shawn Abner ran down in center to end the sixth.

Leading off the seventh was Doran, who worked the count to 3-and-1 before plopping a ball just over the shortstop Dickie Thon and into left field.

Said Doran: “It was a good fastball, all I could do with it was stick the bat out and poke it out there.”

Said Hawkins: “It was a concentration lapse. It got it over the outside of the plate and he just angled it right.”

Nearly as impressive as the six no-hit innings were what happened after they ended. Suddenly worried about his shutout, Hawkins went to 1-and-2 on Glenn Davis before getting him to ground into a double play, and then went 1-and-2 on Kevin Bass before retiring him on a ground out.

“I kept thinking, both of these guys could take me deep and I’m down 2-1,” Hawkins said. “I just wanted to keep the ball down.”

Said Bowa: “Good concentration. He never forgot what he was trying to do.”

Just as Jimmy Jones didn’t forget on Friday, or Ed Whitson on Saturday, in what became a very forgetful weekend for a very good Houston team.

“You see their pitchers in the last three days, and then you look at their box scores when they play everybody else, and it’s hard to figure,” Doran said.

Hawkins smiled. “People might be surprised. They just might be surprised.”

Padre Notes

The Padres and Astros have something going, only the Astros wish it would stop. The Astros have 10 straight losses in San Diego, their most consecutive losses at a visiting park since 1983. During that time they have been outscored, 58-18. The last time the Padres swept a series, it was the Astros (Sept. 10-12). The last time a Padre pitcher threw a one-hitter against somebody, it was against the Astros (Jimmy Jones, Sept. 21, 1986, big-league debut). We look toward esteemed Astro pitcher Mike Scott for a summation. “We stink here,” Scott said. “Maybe it’s because the atmosphere in San Diego is like, they’re going to have a barbecue in center field.” ... John Kruk (strained shoulder) was held out of his third straight game Sunday, and might not return Tuesday against St. Louis as Larry Bowa originally hoped. “When he says he’s fine, we’re still going to give him another day,” Bowa said. “Because I know how bad Johnny wants to come back.”

Scorecard

FIFTH INNING

Padres--Thon singled to left. Abner lined to shortstop. Hawkins sacrificed. Gwynn was intentionally walked. Alomar singled to left, Thon scoring, Gwynn to third, Alomar to second on the throw. Ready flied to right. One run, two hits, two left.

EIGHTH INNING

Padres--With two outs, Ready walked. Ready stole second. Wynne tripled to left-center, scoring Ready. Camacho replaced Deshaies. Santiago bunted for a single, Wynne scoring. Santiago was thrown out attempting to steal. Two runs, two hits, one left.