Braves Jump on Rasmussen to Knock Padres Off Top, 5-0

First things first. The Padres’ first-place standing met starting pitcher Dennis Rasmussen’s first-inning blues Wednesday night.

And this morning the Padres are in second place, thanks to a 5-0 loss to Atlanta before 14,621 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The continued first inning troubles of Rasmussen started the decline, and the inability of the Padres to figure out left-hander Tom Glavine, who handed the Padres their first shutout since last Aug. 30, sealed it.

Rasmussen and first innings get along about as well as Bryant Gumbel and The Today Show cast. Last year, Rasmussen allowed 20 first-inning runs in 31 starts.

He has picked up this year where he left off last.

Ever consistent, he spotted Houston a first inning run Friday in his first outing of 1989. The first three Astros to face Rasmussen reached base--a double, single and bunt single.

Wednesday, the Braves took it a step further when their first four batters reached base.

“Coming to the park today, I got behind three or four cars that were slowing because of a fire truck and paramedics, so I took a detour,” Padre Manager Jack McKeon said. “That’s basically what Rasmussen did.”

The detour started in the first, when Rasmussen stepped onto the mound, toed the rubber and the hits began to fly.

Lonnie Smith started things with a single to right. Next came Dale Murphy, wearing some extra incentive having been moved up to second in the batting order for only the second time in his career.

The move worked. Murphy drove Rasmussen’s first offering over the inside wall in center field, 405-feet away. The home run was No. 335 for Murphy, tying Hank Aaron’s Atlanta club record.

How bad have things been for Murphy? A reporter asked him after the game when he last batted second, and Murphy misunderstood. Never impolite, Murphy acknowledged he hasn’t been on base much this year, but pointed out that he had reached second base just last night.

Once the question was made clear, he recalled batting second sometime around 1980, when Bobby Cox, the current Brave general manager, was the Brave manager.

After Murphy crossed the plate, Rasmussen was in a familiar setting. The opposition was on the scoreboard and the first inning was still young.

It seemed to get younger. Gerald Perry followed Murphy’s blast with a single to left and clean-up hitter Andres Thomas, who had one of just three home runs in Atlanta’s batting order, bounced a ball into the hole between short and third. Garry Templeton smothered it, but couldn’t do anything. Perry was safe at second and Thomas was standing on first. And none were out.

Rasmussen worked the fifth batter, Jody Davis, to a full count before finally inducing him to fly to right. Then, a couple of arms--Rasmussen’s and catcher Benito Santiago’s--prevented further damage.

As Rasmussen struck out Ron Gant, Thomas attempted to steal second and Santiago threw him out.

Rasmussen labored through the next three innings, but got away unscathed. One Brave reached base against him in the second, two more in the third, none in the fourth and three in the fifth. Murphy, who had walked, scored in the fifth on Thomas’ single to center.

By the end of the fifth inning, Rasmussen’s last, he was shaken for three runs and eight hits. He walked two.

Glavine (2-0), meanwhile, simply overmatched the Padres. By game’s end, Glavine had thrown his first career shutout, allowing just six hits and walking just one.

He was 7-17 last year, but his earned run average for this season, including a win over the Dodgers last week, is 0.00.

“Glavine did a great job,” Atlanta Manager Russ Nixon said. “That’s two in a row for him against supposedly the two best teams in the division.”

Said Glavine: “I think it’s a matter of going out there more aggressive and not being afraid to throw strikes. Last year, I was hoping I could make the pitches and get guys out. This year, I decided if they’re going to hit me, they’re going to do it doing what I want to do.”

Glavine used a fastball, slider, curve and change-up to keep the Padres guessing.

“He was good,” Garry Templeton said. “He pitched a hell of a game.”

Said Jack Clark: “He was super. We never got anything going. Carmelo (Martinez) and Randy (Ready) had some good cuts, but other than that, he got everyone in the order out easily.”

Ready and Martinez each had two hits. Clark was frustrated again, going zero for four and reaching for strike three on his final time at bat in the ninth. His batting average dropped to .148.

Aside from Martinez and Ready, the only other Padre hits were by Tony Gwynn and Benito Santiago. Gwynn, who now has hit safely in all nine games, got his hit in the ninth.

By that time, the game was decided. When the Braves scored their fourth run, it was apparent that breaks were falling everywhere but in the Padres’ direction. Greg Booker replaced Rasmussen in the sixth and promptly walked his first batter, Ron Gant. John Russell followed with a single, moving Gant to second and then Jeff Blauser bunted them up a base.

The infield pulled in, and the Padres got exactly what they wanted--a ground ball. Then they got what they didn’t want--an error. Glavine grounded a shot to Roberto Alomar, but the ball cut through the infield grass and skipped past Alomar and into right field for Alomar’s fifth error in nine games. Gant scored and it was 4-0.

After the game, Alomar was suffering from a swollen left arm as well as a bruised ego. He was spiked early on by Thomas, but not severely enough to take an early exit.

“I don’t think about it,” Alomar said of his fifth error. “It just happened. I can’t be concerned about it. You just try to do the best you can.”

The Padres put their leadoff man on in the fifth, seventh and ninth but failed to produce a run.

Padre Notes

Pitcher Greg Harris played long toss in the outfield Wednesday and then pronounced himself fit to pitch. “I feel a lot better today,” Harris said. “I’ve made a lot of progress since yesterday.” According to Harris, the injury was never officially diagnosed. “I think it was a small torn cartilage under the ribs,” he said.

Tim Flannery was also feeling better Wednesday after taking himself out of Tuesday’s lineup because of a bout with the flu. “First time ever,” Flannery said of his decision to remove himself from the order. “I’ve played with torn ligaments and broken ribs, but I couldn’t see straight yesterday. I thought I was going to get pulled over for drunk driving on the way to the ballpark.”

Lou Rawls sang the national anthem before Wednesday’s game. Rawls, in town to promote the United Negro College Fund, shagged some balls and took some swings during batting practice after John Kruk spied him on the field and handed him a glove. Good thing Rawls, a baseball fan, sings better than he plays. He took a fly ball in the face during batting practice but was not injured.

The pitching rotations are set for this weekend’s series with Cincinnati, the first series that can be called important since the Padres fell out of the 1985 race in mid-season. On Friday, Danny Jackson (1-1) will face Eric Show (1-1). Saturday, Tom Browning (2-0) goes against Bruce Hurst (1-1). Sunday, Rick Mahler (0-2) takes the mound against Ed Whitson (2-0). The match ups are attractive because, among other things, a couple of hard-throwers--Jackson and Show--are pitted against each other, as are a couple of crafty left handers (Browning and Hurst). “I really don’t think much about the match-ups,” Padre pitching coach Pat Dobson said. “The only thing you really want to avoid is getting blown out three days in a row. You just want to play well and be competitive.”

A 162-game season is full of little tests, and one began Wednesday night for the Padres. Starting with Tom Glavine, Atlanta’s pitcher, the Padres face four left handers in four days. Look for Randy Ready to get plenty of playing time. Last season, the Padres batted .247 against lefties, the same average as against right handers.