In Spite of Themselves, Padres Win One in 9th

So the Padres made a few mistakes Thursday. No matter. When you’re hot, even negatives can turn into positives.

In the sixth inning of the series finale against the Montreal Expos, Roberto Alomar and Tony Gwynn goofed up on the bases. The only question was which Padre would run himself into an out and put a crimp in an incipient rally.

What happened? Alomar and Gwynn wound up with a double steal, and the Padres scored three runs after the side should have been retired. Dickie Thon drove in the last two with a double. That turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.

In the ninth, Lance McCullers blew a save and cost Ed Whitson a victory by serving up Andres Galarraga’s second two-run home run of the day. The crowd of 15,648 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium showered McCullers with boos.

Again, so what? In the ninth, Mark Parent led off with a double, and with two outs, Carmelo Martinez singled in the run that gave the Padres a 5-4 victory and a sweep of the three-game series.

The Padres thus won their six home games against the Expos for the first time in the 20-year history of both teams.

And to complete the bizarre story, who should emerge as the winning pitcher but the errant McCullers, now 2-6? When this was announced, the fans stopped cheering and booed again.

The key to the whole crazy game was the play on which Alomar and Gwynn bumbled their way to a double steal.

Pascual Perez, whose 2.32 earned-run average was the third best in the major leagues, had a three-hitter going when Alomar opened the sixth by beating out a towering one-hopper to third baseman Tim Wallach.

Gwynn followed with a single, his only hit in three official at-bats but keeping him on top in the league batting race (.322 to .321 for Atlanta’s Gerald Perry).

With Martinez at bat, Alomar started toward third, then stopped, but not in time to prevent Gwynn from starting to second. With no alternative, Alomar headed for third again and somehow got a “safe” call from umpire Charlie Williams.

It was conceivable that Alomar had (a) run out of the baseline, (b) been tagged by Wallach or (c) both of the above. When Williams ruled out either, Expo Manager Buck Rodgers raced out of the dugout and complained so vehemently that he was thrown out.

“I can’t believe that call,” Rodgers said. “I showed Williams Alomar’s footprints in the dirt, and he had to be out of the baseline.”

An equally irate Wallach said, “First, I tagged him (Alomar). Second, he was out of the baseline. After I tagged him, he wasn’t doing anything, so I went after him again and got him on the shoulder. The umpire screwed it up both ways.”

When Alomar was asked if he had run out of the baseline, he smiled and said, “Maybe. I don’t know. Maybe he (Wallach) tagged me, too, but I didn’t feel his tag.”

Recounting what happened, Alomar said, “I started toward third, but the infield was a little bit wet from being watered, and I slipped, so I didn’t go. Then I saw Tony on the way to second, so I had to go. We were lucky.”

Said Gwynn, sheepishly, “I got (faked). . . . We were both in no-man’s land, and at least one of us should have been caught.”

Given a break, the Padres pulled into a 2-2 tie on Tim Flannery’s infield out and took a two-run lead when Thon doubled. If the Expos had retired either Alomar or Gwynn, Flannery’s out would have ended the inning.

Whitson, bidding for his 11th victory, held the Expos to six hits through eight innings and recorded a season-high eight strikeouts. Only Galarraga’s first home run had cost him a shutout. But when Wallach led off the ninth with a double, Manager Jack McKeon sent for McCullers. Two pitches later, Galarraga struck again.

The homers were Galarraga’s 23rd and 24th of the year, but he had never before hit two in a game in three seasons in the major leagues. They ended a 3-for-30 slump.

Coach Jackie Moore, filling in for Rodgers as Expo manager, delegated Tim Burke to preserve the tie. But when Parent greeted Burke with a double, the Padres were in business.

Stan Jefferson ran for Parent and took third on Garry Templeton’s sacrifice. After Marvell Wynne popped out, Burke intentionally walked Alomar and Gwynn to load the bases. Martinez took a ball, then lined the game-winning hit to center field.

Padre Notes

Padre pitcher Dennis Rasmussen left the park before Thursday’s game to be with his two-week-old daughter, who was hospitalized Wednesday because of a fever. While at the stadium, Rasmussen received treatment for the injury to his right hamstring, suffered during his 4-2 victory over the Expos Wednesday night. He might miss his next turn, but because of off-days Saturday and Thursday, the Padres could get by until next Friday without having to use a substitute starter. Manager Jack McKeon said such an assignment would go to Greg Booker, not Mark Grant, who had been called on in such cases in the past.