Padres Squander Lead, Game, 5-3 : Show Roughed Up in Seventh Inning by Giants in Season Opener

An otherwise dull spring for the highly regarded Padres was livened up by guesses among both players and observers as to the team’s one or two major weaknesses. Some guessed third base. Others guessed outfield speed.

In the regular-season opener Monday night, everyone finally found out what Jack McKeon thinks.

The Padre manager offered his opinion loud and clear as the Padres fell, 5-3, to the San Francisco Giants in front of 50,480 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

McKeon must think there’s a weakness in his bullpen. More specifically, with the right-handed middle relievers.

If McKeon was in love with any of them, he may not have left starter Eric Show to wilt in the seventh inning after he so bravely picked his way through the previous six innings with seemingly enough pitches to last nine innings.

With two outs in the seventh, nobody on base and the Padres leading, 3-2, Show was left in the game to allow, in order:

A walk. A walk. A walk. A two-run single by Kevin Mitchell. An RBI double by Candy Maldonado.

Both Mitchell and Maldonado bat right-handed, yet not until Mitchell approached the plate with the bases loaded did a right-hander (Greg Harris) even stand up in the bullpen.

By the time McKeon finally brought in lefty Dave Leiper two batters too late, the fans surrounded Show with boos and the Padres were trailing, 5-3. What had begun so pleasantly--with confetti being shot out of cannons, a beauty queen singing the national anthem and Tim Flannery warming more than a few hearts by being the surprise starting third baseman--had turned nasty.

McKeon may have later found his right-handed man, as rookie Greg Harris finished the game with two shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out two. But by then it was too late.

Afterward, when asked about leaving Show in the game, McKeon responded, “Why didn’t I pull Show in the first with a guy on third? Every time a pitcher walks three in a row, am I supposed to pull him? I’ve got confidence in my guys. It’s the first game of the season.

“We were (patient) last year, we aren’t going to be inconsistent this year. He (Show) is a good pitcher. He walked three in a row. He lost his control a bit. No big deal. If we had won the ballgame, you wouldn’t have said a thing.”

Was Show surprised he stayed in? “Yeah, I was,” he said. “But by the same token, I appreciate that from Jack. Most of the time, I will work out of that. Tonight was not one of those nights.”

Wasted was Benito Santiago’s fourth-inning homer that had given the Padres the lead. Wasted was an RBI fly by Jack Clark (first inning) and an RBI single by Roberto Alomar (second inning) that had tied it up after the Giants scored twice in the first on Mitchell’s two-run homer.

The Padres were sufficiently deflated by Show’s seventh inning so much so that even an eighth-inning rally, the kind they made a habit of last year, fell short. Pinch-hitter Luis Salazar--to the cries of ‘Looouie’ from the many fans who remember his two earlier stops in San Diego--began the eighth with a single to left off reliever Craig Lefferts. Tony Gwynn then singled to center.

Up stepped Jack Clark, who is four for seven lifetime against Lefferts with all four hits being home runs. Out to the mound trotted Manager Roger Craig with a look that suggested Clark would never again face Lefferts in this lifetime. Sure enough, in came Mike LaCoss, a converted starter who had not saved a gave in four years.

He struck out Clark on four pitches and retired Carmelo Martinez on a fly ball to the left-field wall. Then, after walking John Kruk to add to the suspense, he struck out Santiago looking to end the inning with the bases loaded.

The Padres got close again in the ninth when Roberto Alomar drew a two-out walk. But Salazar struck out to end the game and give LaCoss his save and starter Rick Reuschel the victory. Funny, but it was the Giants, with no legitimate stopper, who were supposed to have the horrible bullpen.

“We’ve already been crucified for having such a bad bullpen,” Craig complained before the game. “It would be nice if we could see what happens.”

And so it was nice for him to see. While for the Padres, it seemed as if the worst thing about the night was not the loss to San Francisco, but the loss for Show.

“I wasn’t in midseason form, I lost that game,” Show said. “We had a 3-2 lead with two out in the seventh. I walked three guys, It was my fault.”

After a nervous start, one quite unbecoming of a seven-year veteran who had a 2.57 ERA in three previous opening-day starts, Show was his splendid, great-escaping self.

With the score tied, 2-2, in the third, Show allowed a leadoff triple by Will Clark but then stranded him by getting two infield popouts. One was to Mitchell, already with one homer in the game and the major leagues’ best spring hitter with a .455 average and seven homers. The other was to Maldonado. Then he departed the inning by getting a grounder from ex-Padre Terry Kennedy, making his first appearance here since being traded in the winter of 1986.

Padre Notes

The opening day ceremonies were in typical Padre small-town style. The first ball was thrown out by Rhoda Polley, longtime administrative assistant for the Padres and player favorite who is currently battling cancer. The introductions featured Raymond Meyers, a middle-aged man from Yuma who is the Padres’ bat boy during spring training and is affectionately known as Mickey. The Padres invited him to make his first visit to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium for this game, and then introduced him as an assistant to equipment manager Brian Prilaman, announcing him only as “Mickey,” the name on the back of his jersey. Earlier this spring, at Manager Jack McKeon’s request, Meyers gave the club its pep talk before its first full-squad workout. . . . The season’s first standing ovation went to Padre catcher Benito Santiago for the presentation of his Gold Glove Award at 6:57 p.m. One minute later, the fans were on their feet again as outfielder Tony Gwynn received his Silver Slugger award.