National League Roundup : Clark’s First Hit Helps Padres Get First Victory

The San Diego Padres are aware that throughout his illustrious career, Jack Clark often has been a slow starter, so they were not about to panic when he went hitless in his first two games this season.

Clark had his first hit for his new team Wednesday at San Diego and it was the key blow in a 4-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

It was only a single, but it came during a three-run third inning that put the Padres on top and enabled them to salvage the finale of the three-game opening series.

A second-inning home run by former Padre Terry Kennedy gave the Giants a 1-0 lead, but in the bottom of the second Marvell Wynne hit a double and then scored on an infield out and a sacrifice fly.

In the decisive rally off Don Robinson, Luis Salazar and Tony Gwynn hit singles, and Clark, 0 for 5, had a single that scored the tiebreaking run. Wynne’s single drove in another. The fourth came in on a double error by shortstop Jose Uribe.

After the Padres’ two best pitchers--Eric Show and Bruce Hurst--opened with defeats, No. 3 Ed Whitson got a victory. Whitson left with two out in the seventh inning after giving up a two-run home run to Robbie Thompson. It was the sixth hit off last year’s 13-game winner, who struck out eight.

Last season, the Padres lost their first five games.

The Padres, who are co-favored with the Cincinnati Reds in the Western Division, thought it was important to win.

“Each time you lose a game, you start thinking about last year,” said Jack McKeon, who became manager in 1988 after the team’s slow start under Larry Bowa. “Maybe now that we have a victory, it will take the pressure off. Maybe, when some of our other guys get their first hit, they’ll relax a little bit, too.”

The Giants weren’t really impressed by Whitson. “I thought he was just average,” said Will Clark, who went 0 for 3 after getting five hits in the first two games.

St. Louis 3, New York 1--The victory in the game at New York went to one-time hard-luck pitcher Jose DeLeon, but it was also a success for the loser, Bob Ojeda.

Ojeda, one of the league’s better left-handers, nearly severed his left middle finger with hedge clippers in a gardening accident late last season.

In his first start since then, Ojeda was strong for 6 2/3 innings. Only Willie McGee gave him trouble. McGee had two of the six hits Ojeda allowed, including his first home run batting right-handed in two years. McGee drove in two runs.

“I tell you, I’m thrilled to have pitched at all,” Ojeda said. “I don’t feel good about the Mets losing but I’m happy I could just take the mound. I’m so glad to be back.”

DeLeon, who led the Cardinals with 13 victories last season, snapped St. Louis’ 11-game losing streak in New York and ended his personal nine-game skid against the Mets.

DeLeon knows something about hard luck. In 1985, he pitched a number of quality games for Pittsburgh but finished 2-19.

In this game, he held the Mets to four hits in eight innings. Ken Dayley got one out in the ninth before Darryl Strawberry doubled, and Todd Worrell took over for the last two outs to earn his first save.

Pittsburgh 3, Montreal 0--Randy Johnson, the 6-foot 10-inch left-hander from USC who took the National League by storm late in the 1988 season, lost his first game for the Expos in the game at Montreal.

He was 3-0 and struck out 25 batters in 26 innings after coming up last season. He was almost as good in this game, but he ran up against the two-hit pitching of Doug Drabek.

Johnson gave up only three hits and one earned run in eight innings. He struck out nine but walked seven batters, two of whom scored.

Drabek, a 15-game winner in 1988, gave up singles to Hubie Brooks in the first inning and to Andres Galarraga in the seventh.

Philadelphia 12, Chicago 4--If he had played most of his games in Wrigley Field, Mike Schmidt might be challenging Henry Aaron’s home run record.

The old third baseman, whom the Phillies’ management wanted to retire, hit a three-run home run at Chicago to cap a seven-run fourth inning that set up his club for an easy victory.

Schmidt also homered Tuesday and has hit 50 in Wrigley Field.

The victory went to former Dodger Ken Howell, although he barely lasted five innings and threw five wild pitches.

He made it that far mainly because he went into the bottom of the fourth inning with a 9-2 lead. The Phillies scored in six innings and had 14 hits.

Atlanta 8, Houston 4--It was the 11th game last season before the Braves won their first game. This season, they won in their second.

Jeff Blauser, one of the sought-after players who stayed put, hit a two-run double in the fourth inning at Houston to put the Braves ahead to stay.

Later, Gerald Perry added a pair of run-scoring doubles to clinch the victory for reliever Jose Alvarez.

Shades of 1988: There were four balks, most in any game so far this season.