Padres Run Win Streak to Five, 7-3

That blip that just appeared on the radar screen of the National League West is the Padres.

They have won five in a row for the first time this year. And suddenly the slumping Dodgers, the inconsistent Astros, the hurting Giants and disappointing Reds aren’t so far over the horizon.

For most of the year the Padres have been a team that sent its followers screaming into the night.

Since last Thursday, they have been playing like a dream.

The latest revelation was a neat, quick, 7-3 disposing of San Francisco Monday evening at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Less than a week ago, the Padres trailed the first-place Dodgers by 11 1/2 games. Now they are only 8 behind the Dodgers and the Astros, who are tied.

There were more Padre heroes Monday than there were people brave enough to say they think the Padres can continue to climb in the division standings. But this is a team that six days ago was the McHale’s Navy of the National League. The Padres will take their encouragement any way they can.

And, Manager Jack McKeon said, “You look at the season. If you pick up a game a week, you’ll be in pretty good shape.”

The Padre honor roll:

--Eric Show: He gave up just 4 hits in 7 innings, despite warts on his feet and a horrendous pitching mistake that allowed losing pitcher Mike Krukow to hit his fifth home run in 13 major league seasons.

“It was like a blind dog finding an acorn,” Krukow said of his blast. “But it really doesn’t mean a hell of a lot.”

Show (5-6) struggled early with his delivery and late with his verbiage. “You can pitch a gem and lose,” he said. “But you can’t lose when you win. . . . Don’t quote me on that. It sounds like a Yogi Berra.”

--Carmelo Martinez: Subbing at first base for the injured John Kruk (jammed thumb), Martinez ripped his third two-run double in four games. He is 5 for 7 with 7 runs-batted in with men in scoring position since McKeon replaced the fired Larry Bowa on May 28.

--Roberto Alomar and Marvell Wynne: The 1-2 hitters in McKeon’s batting order extended their consecutive-game hitting streaks to six. Alomar’s fifth home run came in the third on an 0-2 Krukow pitch and turned out to be his fourth game-winning RBI of the year.

--Mark Davis: He converted his 10th save in 10 opportunities and shocked everybody but Show with his first major league home run, a two-run, 410-foot shot to right-center in the eighth.

It was the former Giant’s first home run since he played for Granada High School in Livermore 10 years ago. He borrowed Show’s bat to do it. “I called it,” Show said. It was the first home run by a Padre pitcher since Jimmy Jones connected at Cincinnati off Guy Hoffman last July 30.

--Jack McKeon: The Padres have won 10 of 16 since McKeon replaced Bowa. They are 8-3 on the current home stand with two remaining before a five-game weekend series against the Dodgers at Los Angeles.

“There was so much tension before,” Show said. “That tenseness permeated and we picked up on it. With Jack, if you have a question, he’s never too busy for you.”

“Fun,” McKeon said. “That’s what we’re talking about . . . fun. And that’s what this is all about . . . fun.”

But the division title?

“I believe we’ve got the talent,” Martinez said. “Maybe the other clubs don’t believe we have the talent to do it. We’re doing the little things. We’re not being selfish.”

Said McKeon: “The ultimate goal is to finish on top. Whether you can reach it or not, you shoot for it.”

It beats shooting yourself in the foot. But the division title?

“I don’t know the answer to that yet,” said Tony Gwynn, the voice of reason.

This was also a night on which the Padres came from behind. Will Clark’s 16th home run in the first stood up until the second when three Padre singles and an error by Giant shortstop Matt Williams led to two runs.

The Giants answered with Krukow’s homer, but the Padres took the lead for good when Alomar rocked Krukow. They added two more on Martinez’s double in the fifth and two more again on Davis’ homer. Davis allowed a run-scoring single to Clark in the eighth, but it was too little too late.

“We’re playing good baseball right now,” Gwynn said. “We want to ride it as long as we can.”

Padre Notes

Mark Parent was happy to return to the lineup Monday night as Eric Show’s designated catcher. Parent had started in place of Benito Santiago whenever Show was on the mound while Larry Bowa was still the Padre manager. But Manager Jack McKeon tried teaming Santiago with Show last Wednesday (a 7-1 loss to the Reds), and the two continued to have communication problems. “Eric and I seem to work good together,” Parent said. “If it works, why mess with it? Eric and Bennie (Santiago) seemed to struggle sometimes.” Asked if McKeon had informed him he had returned as Show’s permanent catcher, Parent said, “The only person who ever said anything to me was the pitching coach.” Pat Dobson, Padre pitching coach, said of the rift between Show and Santiago: “I think it’s just a matter of lack of confidence. There’s no sense two guys battling each other during the course of a game.” Dobson said Parent and Show would be a team until further notice. “They (Santiago and Show) should be able to work together,” Dobson said, “but that’s the way the game is. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened and it won’t be the last.”

Dobson is working slowly on the changes he needs to implement into the mechanics of newly-acquired left-handed starter Dennis Rasmussen. Rasmussen beat the Dodgers Saturday in his first start since coming to the Padres from the Reds Wednesday. But Dobson didn’t make him use the slide-step method of pitching from the stretch. The slide-step, when used properly, prevents runners from getting a big jump. “We’ll get Dennis using it eventually,” Dobson said. . . . The Padres entered Monday night’s game 8 1/2 games out of first in the National League West. Maybe they aren’t thinking about a division title, but Giant Manager Roger Craig, in his public statements at least, hasn’t counted them out. “There are a lot of clubs 8 1/2 out or more in other divisions that haven’t counted themselves out,” Craig said. “Those teams still think they can win.” Craig managed the Padres in 1978 and ’79.

First baseman John Kruk (jammed thumb) didn’t start against the Giants and is still listed as day-to-day. He suffered the injury Saturday night diving for a ground ball against the Dodgers. Giant starter Mike Krukow didn’t mind Kruk being out of the starting lineup. Kruk is .462 (6 for 13) lifetime against Krukow. . . . One bane of most major league managers is the midseason exhibition game against one of the farm clubs. Craig was moaning about Thursday’s scheduled game in Phoenix against the triple-A Giants. “We knew in spring training we were going to have to play it,” he said. “It just so happens that we might have to go into it with a tired bullpen. Hopefully, we’ll get some well-pitched games in this series and we won’t have to worry about it.”