Sore Finger Forces Gwynn to Sit

There’s trouble at the top of the National League batting race.

Two days after Tony Gwynn finally took the league lead, he lost it when was taken out of the lineup Friday with a swollen left hand. The problem is in the index finger, the same one that was surgically repaired last spring.

“It just flat-out hurts,” Gwynn said. “I can’t throw, and I can’t hold the bat right.”

Gwynn began complaining of increased soreness on the last trip, finally admitting in Houston last week that he couldn’t properly grip the ball.

After being “jammed” twice by Pascual Perez pitches in Thursday’s 5-4 victory over Montreal, Gwynn said Friday he could barely hold a ball.

And suddenly, he said, the finger is beginning to affect his batting grip, which thus far has led to a .322 average, including .421 in the past 41 games.

Atlanta’s Gerald Perry, after going 2 for 5 against the Cubs Friday, also has an average that rounds to .322, but his is fractionally better, .3217 to .3215.

For now, that’s the least of Gwynn’s problems. The finger hurt so much, he agreed with Manager Jack McKeon that it was time for a rest. Since the Padres are off today, one day equals two.

“I’ve talked to every doctor who has come through that clubhouse door, and every one tells me there is nothing I can do but rest it,” said Gwynn, who until Friday had made 74 consecutive starts since coming off the 15-day disabled list May 29 in New York after suffering a bruised right thumb.