Show Forced to Leave, and Padres Lose, 1-0

Oh, the Padres’ aching back. More specifically, Eric Show’s aching back.

You may not have heard it crack Tuesday night. It wasn’t as loud as that Mark Davis curveball that rattled off catcher Mark Parent’s shin guards in the eighth inning. The one that then rolled toward the Padres’ dugout. The one that allowed Keith Hernandez to cross the plate from third, breaking a scoreless tie and giving the New York Mets a 1-0 victory.

But the pain was there, and it left the Padres hurting all over in their second consecutive loss, in front of 13,567 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

It was Show’s back spasms that put reliever Davis on the mound in the eighth inning in the first place. It was the spasms that sat down the Padres’ hottest pitcher, one who had just thrown seven shutout innings. The same guy who had allowed just three runs in his previous 31 innings combined. The same guy who just 10 days ago had thrown a complete-game victory in Pittsburgh.

When Show came into the dugout after the seventh, having thrown 110 pitches, he was asked how he felt.

“He told us he was tired, that he thought he could go back out, but that he was tired,” Manager Larry Bowa recounted.

“Said his back was a little stiff,” pitching coach Pat Dobson said.

Hearing that, the Padre bosses decided it wasn’t worth it. Afterward, Show seemed understanding of that decision.

“I wanted to continue, but I had back spasms,” Show said. “Larry didn’t want to take a chance.”

All of which led to the two scenes that decided the game.

Scene One: Bottom of the seventh, scoreless tie, one out, none on, Show due up. This was a night in which he had scuffled--allowing 10 of his first 24 batters to reach base--but had survived. And like most survivors, he had gotten stronger, having just finished his best inning of the night, a seventh inning in which he set down the Mets 1-2-3 on five pitches.

But suddenly he was removed for rookie pinch-hitter Randell Byers. Five pitches later, Byers had struck out looking.

Scene Two: Top of the eighth, reliever Davis pitching. He has unquestionably been the Padres’ best pitcher this season, and was working on a 15-appearance roll in which he had allowed 4 runs in 24 innings.

But after getting Wally Backman on a sharp lineout to center, he allowed a single to right by Hernandez. On a 2-and-1 pitch, Hernandez stunned the Padres by running, and catcher Parent’s throw was late. Hernandez had his second stolen base of the year.

Darryl Strawberry then grounded out to second baseman Roberto Alomar, moving Hernandez to third. Up stepped Kevin McReynolds, who last year hit .179 in late-inning pressure situations.

On a 2-and-1 pitch, Davis put a curveball just a touch too low, and Parent couldn’t dig it out. Hernandez scored.

“Those are the breaks of the game,” Davis said. “That’s why the fans are out there, to see the ball bounced around and hopefully your team wins.”

And the Padres, who stranded a runner on second in the ninth against Randy Myers with a Carmelo Martinez strikeout and a Benito Santiago groundout, lost.

“We didn’t execute, and when you don’t execute against good teams, this is what happens,” Bowa said.

At least Show was a bright spot.

“Great job,” Bowa said. “He did all he could do.”

Show left after allowing no runs on just six hits, placing him on a 31-inning roll in which he has allowed just those 3 runs on 17 hits. Unfortunately, during that time, the Padres have scored just four runs. Overall, Show’s earned-run average, which was 8.36 after his first three starts, has dropped to 3.35, low among Padre starters.

He scuffled, but he survived.

In the first, Show allowed batters to reach first and second with one out. In the second, he loaded the bases with none out.

In the fourth, he allowed men on first and second with none out. In the fifth, a runner on second and one out.

But by the end of the seventh, he was still throwing a shutout, with six strikeouts in one seven-batter stretch and two double plays, and one inning in which he set down the side.

Meanwhile, the Padres were victimized by another good pitching performance, seven shutout innings by David Cone.

Cone, 25, a second-year man, started the season as a reliever but was recently forced into the starting rotation when Rick Aguilera went down with a sore right elbow. Entering Tuesday, he had won both of his starts, lasting 16 innings during which he allowed just 1 run on 12 hits.

He kept it going Tuesday, striking out a career-high 12, which also tied this season’s National League best. Guess where he set his old career high? Here, last Sept. 1, in his only other start against the Padres. He stuck out seven in 7 innings in a 9-1 victory.

He allowed just four hits over the first five innings Tuesday, and only once did he dirty his hands. In the first, with one out, both Dickie Thon and John Kruk singled. For Thon, it was his third hit in his last five at-bats. For Kruk, his fourth hit in his last six at-bats.

But up came slumping Keith Moreland, coming off a four-game absence because of a sore left shoulder, on an 0-for-15 slide that had dropped his average to .264.

Moreland struck out, looking. Later in the game, he would strike out again in a pressure situation, this time with a runner on second and none out. It was then, for the first time since joining the Padres this winter, Moreland was booed.

Ready followed Moreland in the first inning with a flyout. Over the next five innings, only five other Padres reached base. Only one got as far as second. That was in the sixth inning, when, with runners on first and second and one out, Shawn Abner grounded into a fielder’s choice and then Shane Mack struck out.

Padre Notes

Tim Flannery packed his ancient Chapman College duffel bag Tuesday and hit the road for a four-day rehabilitation assignment with the Padres’ Class-A team in Riverside. Flannery, who has been on the disabled list since April 29 with sprained ligaments in his right ankle, asked for the rehabilitation assignment to get in a few at-bats before he faces major league pitching. Before he was placed on the disabled list, he had only 16 at-bats. “It’s one thing to be a regular and return right away from the disabled list. It’s another to come back with only 16 at-bats in the first place,” said Flannery, who will be the designated hitter for the Riverside Red Wave. “I need to see some pitching.” He doesn’t mind that the Class-A team is playing in a new stadium where the construction of the clubhouses has not been completed, and the players dress in trailers and shower at home. “Shoot, I’m not proud,” Flannery said. “Remember, I’m a surfer. I’ve changed into my wet suit in parking lots.” Flannery said the ankle feels fine, but he added that the feeling doesn’t mean anything until he runs on it. “Sure, I can walk, take infield, hit,” he said, “but I won’t know anything about it until I start running.” He will return to San Diego from Riverside Sunday, in time to join the team for its nine-game East Coast trip beginning Tuesday.

The player most likely to be demoted then is Randell Byers, simply because his only role--left-handed pinch-hitter--is one of Flannery’s roles. In six at-bats, all pinch-hit assignments, since he replaced Flannery April 29, rookie Byers has two hits, including one double. If Byers is not demoted, then room could be made for Flannery by placing Chris Brown on the disabled list. Brown didn’t start Tuesday because of a sore right wrist and missed his seventh consecutive game. The Padres have 10 days from the time of the injury in which to place him on the disabled list if they wish for those 10 missed days to count as part of his stay. He would have been on the list by now but, according to Padre Manager Larry Bowa, “Doctors told us his injury was just day-to-day.” So Bowa continues to wait for his third baseman. “He has to tell me when he can play,” Bowa said for the umpteenth time since Brown joined the team from San Francisco last July 5.

One of two other Padres on the disabled list, Dave Leiper, who is suffering from tendinitis in his left elbow, will throw on the sidelines today in hopes of coming off the list Sunday with Flannery. The pitcher Leiper probably would replace is the same guy who, 15 days ago, replaced him, Keith Comstock (5.14 ERA in five appearances).

The other injured Padre, Tony Gwynn, isn’t so injured anymore. He worked out with his teammates Tuesday and will continue to work with them, although he’s not eligible to return until May 29 in New York. He’s anxious, but as of now, uncomplaining. “I feel fine; I’m ready,” said Gwynn, who is nursing a strained right thumb. “But when I hurt it (May 7 in Pittsburgh), we all thought it was worse than it was. That’s OK. Right now, I feel like I could use the extra week. I don’t want to rush it.” . . . Shortstop Garry Templeton missed his second consecutive start with a sore knee Tuesday. There is a buildup of fluid in the knee, and Templeton is taking medication for it and is day-to-day.

PADRES AT A GLANCE

EIGHTH INNING

Mets--Davis pitching. With one out, Hernandez singled to right and stole second. Strawberry grounded to second, Hernandez taking third. Hernandez scored on wild pitch. McReynolds struck out. One run, one hit.