McCullers’ Walk Gives Game to Reds

Sorry, fight fans, nothing but baseball to report from the Padres this morning.

Oh, there is still controversy and intrigue. Tuesday night’s game produced a major position change, a catcher who is major angry, and a pitcher who gave up the winning run when he walked a guy he had struck out in the same situation in Class-A ball in 1984.

But for the first time in several days, nobody needed an ice pack or alibi. Even Monday night’s combatants--Marvell Wynne and Chris Brown--passed each other beneath Riverfront Stadium after Tuesday’s game, in a darkened tunnel no less, and each came out wearing his own shirt.

Peace returned to the Padres. Sort of. Here’s what happened:

- The Padres lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3, when reliever Lance McCullers, after a 10-pitch duel, walked Tracy Jones to force in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth. In the 1984 Florida State League All-Star game, in an identical bases-loaded situation, Jones needed one more hit to become the game’s most valuable player, but McCullers struck him out.

“I remembered,” Jones said.

“I’ll remember this,” McCullers said.

- Padre Manager Jack McKeon made his first serious lineup shake-up, moving Keith Moreland from left field to first base and John Kruk from first to left for an indefinite period. Kruk will play left against all but tough left-handers, in which case Carmelo Martinez will play.

- Padre catcher Benito Santiago felt the sting of a different kind of lineup change--he was benched for the third consecutive night while Mark Parent played. The coaching staff is worried that Santiago is letting his poor hitting (.233 average, 3 homers, 19 RBIs) affect his concentration and handling of pitchers. Santiago said he doesn’t appreciate or understand it.

“This kind of thing doesn’t happen much to me, and I don’t like it,” said Santiago, who was still unsatisfied after a pregame meeting with McKeon. “Look at my stats. I’m fielding fine. I asked Jack if he wants a .100-hitting catcher who plays good defense or a .380-hitting catcher who can’t play defense. He gave me no answer.”

“Hey,” McKeon said of the day’s events, raising his hands. “What are you gonna do?”

He was speaking first of McCullers, who would not have been needed Tuesday had Ed Whitson been able to hold a 3-0 lead the Padres gave him in the first inning. For the second outing in a row, he threw great except for a home run, this time a two-run shot by Barry Larkin that tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth.

The newest bullpen employee, Mark Grant, came in three innings later, survived a shaky eighth and then was left in the game in the ninth because McKeon does not want to use stopper Mark Davis in a tie game.

Eric Davis led off the ninth with a single to center. Two pitches later, Leon Durham singled to right, with Davis taking third. In came reliever Dave Leiper, who walked pinch-hitter Dave Concepcion to load the bases and then gave way to McCullers, who had struck out 33 in 48 innings.

Unfortunately, he also has 29 walks and good vision.

“I walk in and it looks like they got five aces and we’ve got nothing,” McCullers said.

After getting pinch-hitter Dave Collins to fly to shallow center field, McCullers faced Jones, who was just off the disabled list after arthroscopic knee surgery and was not able to do anything but walk because he was afraid to run.

“I hit the ball on the ground,” Jones said later, “good chance it’s a double play.”

What ensued was a throat-tightening, 10-pitch duel that somebody should sell on videotape.

Ball one. Ball two. Foul ball. Swing and miss for strike 2. Foul. Foul. Ball three. Foul. Foul.

“I couldn’t believe he was hitting some of those fouls,” McCullers said. “He was barely getting the bat on the ball.”

“I’ve always had pretty quick hands,” Jones said.

The final pitch was a fastball low and away. Ball four. Jones bounced his bat off the turf and trotted to first and Davis trotted in from third with the game-winner, breaking the Reds’ six-game losing streak and making the Padres 6-7 on this trip with two games left.

“I thought he would swing,” McCullers said. “He really battled.”

“Hey, it was a good game,” McKeon said. “We win the next couple and it’s been a good trip. We win just one, it’s still a good trip.”

If nothing else, the Padres will come home a different team after the switch of Moreland and the new way of handling Santiago.

First Moreland, who started at first base Tuesday for the 57th time in his eight-year career.

“I’ve been thinking about making this move for a while,” McKeon said. “I want him to think about offense without worrying about his defense.”

In other words, McKeon is worried that recent events in left field, which have been out of Moreland’s physical control (such as fly balls he couldn’t chase down), are affecting his overall play. And Martinez and Kruk have more range out there, anyway.

“Moreland has some limitations, but he gets the most out of his ability,” McKeon said. “I don’t like it that he’s been unjustly criticized in some areas. If we have one pro out there, it’s Moreland, and I know he’ll do anything for us.”

Moreland, who discussed this with McKeon Sunday in Atlanta, said: “It doesn’t bother me. I said all along, I’m happy as a lark as long as I’m in the starting lineup. I don’t care where it is.”

Said displaced first baseman Kruk, who actually didn’t take over there until the middle of last year: “They’ve got to do what’s best for the team. I ain’t played 100 years, I can’t tell them what to do.”

On to Santiago, about whom McKeon would only say: “Sometimes when a guy is not hitting, it affects him in other areas. Benny is getting a well-needed rest. And Parent is playing well, handling the pitchers well. We’ll try this and see what happens.”

Santiago, the 1987 rookie of the year, has committed just 7 errors (he had 22 last year) and has thrown out more than 50% of potential base-stealers. He was openly angry when he saw the lineup card before the game, and afterward he had scarcely calmed.

“I can see giving me days off if I mess up, but I don’t think I’m messing up,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can behind the plate. All I’m trying to do is win. Yet, I come here and see I don’t play this day, and the next day, and the next day. I don’t know what they are doing.”

Padre Notes

All was quiet on the Chris Brown-Marvell Wynne front Tuesday. Brown arrived at Riverfront Stadium early in the afternoon and spent most of the time before batting practice reading in his locker. Wynne arrived later, took his spot on the other side of the clubhouse and didn’t stray from there until shortly before batting practice. “It’s over with. What else can I do about it?” said Wynne about Monday night’s pregame fight, during which Brown decked Wynne with a right jab to the face. “All I care about now is helping the team win,” Wynne said. Brown, meanwhile, would not comment. He did laugh, though, when Red Manager Pete Rose, who spotted him talking to Red shortstop Barry Larkin behind the batting cage before the game, shouted, “Don’t hit him, don’t hit him.” Wynne’s left eye, which was nearly swollen shut Monday night, was just a bit puffy, and the only reason he didn’t start was that the Reds were starting a left-hander, Danny Jackson. Wynne entered Tuesday’s game anyway, as a pinch-runner for Keith Moreland in the ninth. Wynne will be back in the lineup today against right-hander Tim Birtsas. He is replacing Ron Robinson, who went on the disabled list Monday with a sore right elbow. Brown’s right hand and thumb were heavily taped, and he also missed batting practice, but sources said the hand wasn’t particularly swollen. Sure enough, Brown pinch-hit for pitcher Ed Whitson in the eighth inning Tuesday, grounding out to shortstop. He will start today.

The specific reason for the fight--Brown’s wardrobe--also surfaced Tuesday. According to one player, Wynne was ribbing Brown because he was not wearing a brown Padre warm-up shirt, which Manager Jack McKeon requires players to wear during infield practice after batting practice. Brown was just wearing a brown jacket, and he said he would put on the shirt after batting practice. He finally grew tired of Wynne’s ribbing and, after asking Wynne to get his face out of his locker, threw his punch. For the record, Brown is three inches taller than Wynne and 30 pounds heavier.

Delayed Call Dept: Brown, who was ejected from Sunday’s game in Atlanta, isn’t the only Padre thrown out of a game on this trip. Friday night in Atlanta, with one out in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss, Padre batting coach Amos Otis was thrown out for yelling at home plate umpire Eric Gregg from the bench. The ejection went unnoticed afterward because of the verbal fight between pitcher Eric Show and McKeon. But Otis is feeling it today, as he has been fined $100 by the league. “Yeah, they got me,” the quiet Otis admitted.

Struggling Jimmy Jones worked for an extraordinary 45 minutes in the bullpen in 90-degree heat Tuesday afternoon, throwing and listening to pitching coach Pat Dobson preach about such things as pitching smart and pitching with his new slider. Afterward, Jones looked as if he had just taken a shower, but he was fairly inspired. “It’s the best I’ve thrown all year,” said Jones, who will pitch in Thursday’s series finale here after allowing 21 earned runs in his last three starts (13 innings).