James Finds the Answer for Padres

Chris James and Tony Gwynn stood at the batting cage Friday afternoon commiserating. They had each come out for extra batting practice and now, 90 minutes before gametime, they felt as bad at the plate as if they had spent the time reading comic books.

They talked about their struggles and why nothing has seemed to go right lately, then stopped. Neither said a word, but each knew what the other was thinking.

They glanced toward the Dodgers’ dugout and grimaced in unison.

Hershiser.

Orel Hershiser, 1988 Cy Young winner and World Series MVP, was pitching tonight.

James shrugged, smiled and said to Gwynn, “Well, I guess it’s up to the left-handed hitters to pick us up tonight.”

Gwynn: “Oh, no, you don’t. Hey, he’s tougher on lefties than righties.”

James, a right-handed hitter, laughed, and said: “You know, you’re right. But damn, I can’t hit these guys, and Hershiser just eats me up.”

So Friday night at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, guess who was the most surprised when James scored the tying run after one double and knocked in the winning run with another in the Padres’ 2-1 victory over the Dodgers.

“I tell you what,” James said, “no matter what I did tonight, I still hate facing those guys. That’s a team you just don’t look foward to hitting again. With that rotation? Come on, there’s no easy guy in there.”

Is that the pitching staff that gives you the most trouble?

“Probably so,” he said.

“Well, I know so.”

James entered the game with a career .183 batting average against the Dodgers, having hit just one homer with nine RBIs in 109 at-bats. And instead of showing signs of improvement, he was six for 40 (.150) against them this season. Even worse, he owned a career .091 average (one for 11) against Hershiser.

“God, I hate facing that guy,” he said.

Imagine now what Hershiser (12-8) must be thinking of James.

He was pitching in the sixth inning with a 1-0 lead, courtesy of Mickey Hatcher’s home run in the top of the inning. He had yielded eight base-runners in the first five innings, with runners in scoring position in every inning but the fifth.

But what did it matter? Eight times the Padres batted with runners in scoring position, and eight times they failed. Matter of fact, the only time they even managed to hit the ball out of the infield with a runner in scoring position was James’ two-out fly ball in the third inning, stranding runners at first and third.

But then came the sixth. James stroked a curveball just past Jeff Hamilton at third base. It caromed off Hamilton’s glove and rolled down the left-field line. By the time he picked it up, James was standing at second with a double.

He moved to third when Mike Pagliarulo grounded to first baseman Eddie Murray, and the Padres broke their 10-inning drought when catcher Mark Parent hit a sacrifice fly to center.

In the eighth, it was the Dodgers’ turn to blunder their way to a scoreless inning. Willie Randolph hit a one-out double to right and was standing at third after after Bruce Hurst’s wild pitch. All they needed was a base hit or fly ball. And they seemingly had the right man at the plate, Hatcher.

Yes, Mickey Hatcher.

He may come off as the clown of baseball to most, posing trouble to opposing pitchers mostly with his practical jokes, not his bat. But to Hurst, Hatcher has seemed every bit as real as Roy Hobbs.

This was a guy who stepped to the plate with a .486 career average against Hurst, with 17 hits in 35 at-bats. Heck, he can’t even do that during batting practice, but against Hurst, he’s looked like a Hall of Famer.

Pitching oh so carefully to Hatcher, knowing that he could still walk him with first base open, Hurst threw a changeup. Hatcher was expecting the fastball. Strike three.

“I don’t know what happened,” Hurst said, “I missed his bat, that’s all I know.”

Eddie Murray posed the last threat to drive in Randolph when he slammed a zero-and-two pitch down the third-base line. There was Mike Pagliarulo, knocking the ball down with his chest. He picked the ball up from the ground, fired to first, and beat Murray by a step.

“I’m glad he’s finally on my side,” Hurst said. “He did that a lot of times against us when I was with Boston. Those are the kind of things that can change the whole complexion of the game.”

James did just that in the bottom of the eighth. Marvell Wynne singled to right field, and with James at the plate, Padre Manager Jack McKeon ordered a hit-and-run. All James was trying to do, he’d say later, was hit the ball on the ground.

Instead, he drove a fastball to the right center-field fence. Right fielder Mike Marshall hurriedly picked it up, but too late. Wynne came across the plate with the winning run.

And just like that, the Padres (50-53) were winners over the Dodgers for the sixth time in seven attempts this season.

It also ended a night where it appeared that both teams were daring each other to score.

Those fun-loving Dodgers allowed six Padre baserunners in the first three innings alone, at least one in the first five innings, and then giggled in delight watching the Padres blunder each opportunity.

“We sure had our opportunities,” McKeon said. “We blew a lot of chances early. But hey, we’ll take it.”

Padre Notes

Carmelo Martinez celebrated his 29th birthday Friday, but it felt like just another day at the ballpark for Martinez, spending it on the bench. He has not started a game since July 7, and has just one hit in 21 at-bats since June 25. . . . Padre shortstop Garry Templeton was diagnosed Friday morning as having a pulled tendon behind his left knee. The doctors at the Scripps Clinic told him that he’ll likely be out four days and miss the three-game series with the Dodgers. Bip Roberts replaced him in the lineup. . . . Catcher Benito Santiago, who suffered a bruised left hand when hit Wednesday night by Cincinnati pitcher Rick Mahler, was kept out of the lineup Friday with a swollen hand. His status is day-to-day. . . . Pitcher Eric Show, who was eligible to come off the disabled list Friday, still has not been given clearance to begin working out. Troubled by a bulging disk in his back, Show was scheduled again Friday night to see doctors. “It’s getting better,” Show said, “but I just don’t know how much. I’d like to know what’s going to happen. I feel like just testing it, and if it goes out again, I’ll have it operated on two months early.” . . . Reliever Dave Leiper, who remained in San Diego during the Padres’ trip to Cincinnati for further tests on his fluctuating rapid pulse, said that a medication for his condition has been prescribed. He began taking it after three hour’s worth of testing Wednesday and says that he believes the worst is behind him. . . . Padre Manager Jack McKeon said he’s not interested in picking up pitcher Bob Knepper, who was released Friday by the Houston Astros. . . . The 37-game hitting streak of Las Vegas Stars second baseman Joey Cora ended Thursday against Albuquerque. It was the 13th-longest hitting streak in minor-league history but still 24 games shy of Joe DiMaggio’s minor-league record of 61 games. Cora went zero for three in the game, which was suspended Wednesday and completed Thursday. He grounded to shortstop, struck out, flied to shallow center and was intentionally walked. . . . Dodger outfielder Kal Daniels, who has eight hits his his past 20 at-bats (.400), was given a day off to rest his ailing knees. . . . Don Schulze (0-0) and John Wetteland (2-2) are the scheduled starters at 7:05 tonight in the second game of the three-game series.