Reds’ Eric Davis Continues to Pound Slumping Padres

Padres brought their special brand of June gloom home with them Tuesday night.

After a 1-9 trip that equaled their worst since 1980, they returned to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium and in front of 16,351 spectators proceeded to play the cloudy brand of baseball that has dropped them from third to fifth place.

This time they lost, 9-6, to Cincinnati.

This is June gloom: Seven consecutive losses, four consecutive losses to Cincinnati this month and one victory in two weeks.

The formula was the usual when they Reds and Padres play. Eric Davis made shambles of Padre pitching, and the Padre offense took its customary sabbaticals with runners on base.

Davis hit a two-run home run off Padre starter Walt Terrell in the fourth to lift the Reds to a 2-2 tie, then sent a Mark Grant pitch over the 405-foot mark in center field for another two-run homer in the eighth. That put the Reds ahead, 8-5, and sent a few thousand fans toward the exits.

“He’s dangerous when he’s hitting like he’s hitting now,” Reds Manager Pete Rose said. “It doesn’t matter where you pitch it, he gets his bat on the ball.

“Last year, he wore the Phillies down. This year, this seems to be one of the teams he sees the ball well against.”

Davis has five home runs and 17 RBIs in seven games against the Padres this year. He beat them in San Diego April 15 with a three-run homer in the ninth. And he hit for the cycle against them on June 2 in Cincinnati.

Terrell left after 4 1/3 innings, having allowed six runs on seven hits, three of which were home runs. Grant was the next victim, allowing two runs and two hits in 3 2/3 innings. Dave Leiper mopped up in the ninth, allowing another run.

“We put plenty of runs on the board,” said Terrell, who allowed eight runs and 11 hits in Cincinnati on June 2. “This was one game where the starting pitcher was deserving of the loss. I just wasn’t very good.”

It was another frustrating evening for Padre batters.

Cincinnati starter Danny Jackson (5-8), Rob Dibble and John Franco combined to strike out 14. Jack Clark, dropped from fourth to fifth in the batting order, ran his consecutive strikeout streak to eight before flying to left in the fifth. He then struck out in his final two at-bats, giving him 10 strikeouts in his last 11 at-bats.

The Padres lead the major leagues with 423 strikeouts.

“There are nine guys out there, and they’ve all got to do their share,” Padre Manager Jack McKeon said. “Everyone has to do their own particular part to help win a ballgame.”

The Reds took the lead for good when they turned a 5-3 deficit into a 6-5 lead in the fifth. Jackson and Chris Sabo singled, and Todd Benzinger followed with a three-run homer.

Gloomy? The Padres loaded the bases in the first and scored once. They loaded the bases in the sixth and came up empty.

“Lost opportunities always come back to haunt you,” McKeon said. “I understand where these guys are coming from. When the bases are loaded, they’re trying like hell.

“I’m hoping in those situations to get two or three runs. I’m assuming we’ll get one. Sometimes you can’t assume it. When they load the bases up on us, you bet your life they’ll get more than one.”

Clark is on a zero-for-20 streak. Leadoff batter Chris James entered the game on a five-for-61 streak since May 23. He went one for two with three walks Tuesday.

Tony Gwynn went hitless in four at-bats, striking out twice, to snap his 13-game hitting streak.

Garry Templeton was one of the lone bright spots with a single and two doubles.

In the first, Jackson walked James, Roberto Alomar and Gwynn in succession, throwing 12 balls and just one strike.

Bases loaded, none out. Good situation, right? Not for the Padres these days. Cleanup batter Carmelo Martinez grounded to shortstop Barry Larkin, who started a double play. James scored and Alomar moved to third.

Clark took a called third strike for his seventh consecutive strikeout, leaving Alomar at third.

The Padres took a 2-0 lead in the second despite two more strikeouts. Santiago singled to center, took third on Templeton’s single to right, and scored on a Jackson balk.

The Reds came back in the fourth with two home runs. The first came from Davis, a two-run homer to right. The second came two batters later and also was hit to right. Ken Griffey drove a one-strike pitch over the wall to make it 3-2.

The Padres came right back in the fourth. Clark struck out again to lead off the inning before Santiago and Luis Salazar singled and Templeton doubled them home.

Templeton’s double went to right-center, between Davis and Paul O’Neill. Templeton scored on James’ single to left.

But it was another short-lived lead. The Reds chased Terrell in the fifth when Jackson and Sabo singled and Benzinger followed with a home run--the third consecutive game in which Benzinger has homered.

Padre Notes

Eric Show will attempt to become the winningest pitcher in Padre history again tonight when he faces Jose Rijo at 7:05 p.m. Show, tied with Randy Jones for 92 career victories, has failed to pick up No. 93 in his last three starts (two losses and a no decision). “I just want to win a game,” Show said. “To be honest about it, the only time I think about (the record) is when reporters ask me about it. I’ve thrown the ball well lately but made some costly mistakes that have wrecked my games and made the linescore look pretty bad, too. My arm feels good, though.”

Benito Santiago leads National League catchers in the latest All-Star Game voting totals, which were announced Tuesday. Santiago has 181,496 votes, which puts him ahead of Tony Pena of St. Louis (123,431). Tim Flannery (29,580), making just his second appearance on the ballot, ranks sixth among third baseman. “You don’t know how many nights of sleep I’ve missed by staying up late and punching ballots,” Flannery said, smiling. “The game will end tonight and I’ll be up until 4 a.m. punching ballots.” Flannery ranks ahead of Chicago’s Vance Law (24,892) and Los Angeles’ Jeff Hamilton (22,604). Recently retired Mike Schmidt (133,677) leads NL third basemen. “He might have to come back and play one more game,” Flannery said. Tony Gwynn (113,715) is fourth among outfielders, trailing New York’s Darryl Strawberry (228,834), San Francisco’s Kevin Mitchell (146,261) and St. Louis’ Vince Coleman (131,901).

Chris James made his first home appearance in San Diego Tuesday and became the eighth Padre to bat leadoff this year. Entering the game, James was in the midst of a five-for-61 slump dating back to May 23. He spent the off day Monday looking for and then moving into an apartment. . . . Manager Jack McKeon hopes the day off gave the Padres a chance to re-charge themselves. “I hope all the guys just forgot about baseball for a day,” he said. “I’ve managed teams where we’ve lost six, seven or eight in a row, but I don’t remember losing any the way we lost some of those games on the road. It’s all behind us, though.” . . . There was a fireworks display after Tuesday’s game celebrating the Hall of Fame’s 50th Anniversary.

DAVE DISTEL’S COLUMN

No matter how hot he is, Tony Gwynn’s work in the batting cage goes on. Page 7A.