Padres Stop Mets in 9th to Win, 1-0 : Davis, Martinez Are the Heroes; Winning Streak at 5

Three New York Mets on the bases. Top of the ninth. One out. Padres leading, 1-0.

Up steps the Mets’ Mookie Wilson. In digs Padre pitcher Mark Davis.

Sharp ground ball to shortstop Dickie Thon. He hasn’t taken a grounder on this infield since Friday. And two football teams trampled the turf Saturday.

“I didn’t know what the ball is going to do,” Thon said. “Anytime there’s been a football game, the ball can do anything. I was guessing.”

He stuck his head down. Good guess. The ball hit a soft spot in front of him and died. He reached forward, tucked it in, and shoved it to second baseman Roberto Alomar.

The rookie took it, stepped across the base to force out Dave Magadan, and then winged it to first base. Wilson is beaten by less than a step.

Double play, Padres win, Mark Davis shoves his fist into an atmosphere filled with 30,000 cheers. “As you know, usually I don’t show much emotion out there,” Davis said. “Today was worth it.”

And the Padre roll--now at five consecutive victories and 10 triumphs in 14 games--goes on.

Carmelo Martinez’s single in the fourth inning produced his third game-winning RBI in four games. That was made possible in part by manager Jack McKeon’s outfield shuffle; he moved Gold Glove right-fielder Tony Gwynn to center, John Kruk went from left field to right and Martinez to left.

McKeon is happy enough about the outcome of all of this movement that he said he might stay with this lineup the rest of the season.

“I just want to get some ideas, see what direction we can go for next year,” said McKeon. The manager has been upset about the recent production of center fielders Stanley Jefferson and Marvell Wynne, who had combined to go 6 for 45 (.133) with no RBIs in 14 games before Sunday.

“I want to get both Kruk and Martinez in the lineup at the same time, and this seems to be the best way to do it,” McKeon said. “Who knows how long it will last. They’ll be in those positions (tonight against Philadelphia).”

The hint that this switch might be more than a fad came when McKeon compared the move to the one in which Keith Moreland was moved from left field to first base. It happened June 28, and of the 47 games since then, Moreland has started 44 at first.

“I kicked this idea around for a couple of days, the same as I did with Moreland,” McKeon said. “And then figured I would just try it.”

Except he didn’t just try it. He sprung it upon the unsuspecting players Sunday in a fashion suitable for the Padres.

First, McKeon said, he went to church.

“I asked the Lord to give me a signal,” he said. “He told me, start Tony in center field today. I said, fine.”

Around 10:30 a.m., McKeon entered the clubhouse and found Gwynn and told him. Suffice to say, Gwynn failed to execute a handstand.

“The last time I played center field was July of 1983,” Gwynn explained. “I remember it because we were playing the Mets and I lost a Jesse Orosco fly ball in center field and it cost us the game. I go out there today and I’m so nervous, it feels like a playoff game.”

Next, McKeon tells Martinez that he is playing right field, and tells Kruk he is playing left field. That’s right, originally it was Martinez in right and Kruk in left.

The two outfielders immediately met. Their conversation, according to Kruk, went like this: Martinez: “Did you hear that? I can’t play right field. I’ve played it once in my life (Friday night subbing for Gwynn). Have you play ever played right field before?”

Kruk: “Well, yeah, in 1980-something. I think I was out there in the minor leagues.”

Martinez: “Good enough. Let’s go tell Jack to switch us.”

Kruk: “I don’t care, I just want to play.”

The two outfielders then converged on McKeon’s office, explained the circumstances and the switch was made.

“The decision process around here,” said Kruk, “is amazing.”

Added Martinez: “I’m just happy I’m not in right. When I play there Friday, I pray the whole game they don’t hit me the ball.”

Generally, Kruk and Martinez are satisfied with the switch, if only because it means the former platoon mates can play every day. But Kruk still needs to work out a few kinks.

“It’s like getting divorced and then getting a new wife right away, with no period of adjustment,” Kruk said. “Playing out there today was like watching a game on TV. It was like I wasn’t even there.”

There might also a few kinks with Gwynn.

“I will play where they put me. I will not complain,” Gwynn said. “It will take some getting used to, but I will do what they want.”

Gwynn, who went 1 for 4, was a factor at the plate Sunday. His fourth-inning grounder off Ron Darling moved Alomar, who had led off with a single, to second base. Martinez then hit Darling’s first pitch into center to score Alomar, and thanks to seven strong innings by starter Andy Hawkins (11-10) and Davis’ 22nd save, the Padres needed no more.

Padre Notes

The bad news for the Padres Sunday was that Dennis Rasmussen could only throw 10 minutes in a pre-game workout before his pulled right hamstring forced him off the mound and temporarily out of the rotation. He will become the first Padre to miss a scheduled start this season, as he has been pulled out of Tuesday’s scheduled appearance against Philadelphia and will be pushed back to at least Friday in Montreal. Because of several recent off days, the other starters can be pushed up without effecting their four-days rest time. Ed Whitson will be moved into Rasmussen’s slot on Tuesday. “At least I lasted 10 minutes, that’s promising,” said Rasmussen, who will try to throw again Wednesday.

Since Jack McKeon took over May 28, the Padres have the second-best record in the National League (44-33), and what has it gotten them? They are still in fifth place. And they have dropped one-half game to the Dodgers, who have the best record in the league since then at 46-34. Sunday’s victory moved the Padres within 2 1/2 games of fourth-place Cincinnati, which is as close to that spot as they’ve been since July 5. They’ve been higher than fifth place just once since their season started, on April 27, when they were tied with San Francisco for fourth. At that point they proceeded to lose 13 of their next 15 games and fall back into fifth.