Roberts’ Running Mistake Costs Padres : Clark Shows His Anger After Key Play in 4-2 Loss to the Dodgers

Jack Clark couldn’t wait to step into the batter’s box in the fifth inning Sunday. It was the perfect situation for a slugger. No-lose, really.

The bases were loaded. One out. The score was tied.

“Who wouldn’t love that situation?” Clark said. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Considering that Dodger starter Fernando Valenzuela had just walked Tony Gwynn on four pitches, Clark might have been too anxious, swinging at the first pitch. He knew immediately he got underneath it, but at least it was going to be long enough to drive in Dennis Rasmussen from third.

Running toward first base, Clark watched left fielder Franklin Stubbs catch the ball, and when he saw that Stubbs was not even going to attempt to throw out Rasmussen at the plate, he clapped his hands in delight. He veered toward the dugout, ready to accept congratulations from his teammates, when he heard a roar from the crowd of 41,775 at Dodger Stadium.

He quickly turned around, watched Bip Roberts sliding into third, and third-base umpire Steve Rippley calling him out. He instinctively looked toward home.

Oh no. Rasmussen had not yet crossed home.

Home plate umpire Bruce Froemming noticed the same thing and immediately began waving off the run. Rasmussen had not crossed home before the third out was recorded.

The score remained tied, but in actuality, Clark said, it was as good as over. So he erupted for all the world to see, four innings before the final score was official: Dodgers 4, Padres 2.

Clark stared at home plate in disbelief, and the longer he stood, the more furious he became. It started with the batting helmet, hurling it toward the dugout. Then came the left batting glove. And the right batting glove. If he had any nerve, he said, he would have torn off his uniform and thrown that right along with the rest.

“That was the game, right there,” Clark said. “If we score that run, it puts all the pressure on them. But when that happened, it put it all back on us.

“We can’t do things like that and be a championship team. We just can’t.”

Although Roberts’ blunder was the biggest of the game, it was just one of many for the Padres.

“If we just play intelligent baseball, we win,” Manager Jack McKeon said. “This is a game we should win. They gave it to us. They gave it to us.

“We get things going, and we just (beat) ourselves.”

Roberts, making his first major league start in center field, felt the wrath of most of McKeon’s criticism for his blunder. Though Roberts said he simply was trying to be aggressive, McKeon made it clear that it hardly could be used as an excuse.

“Let me put it this way,” McKeon said, “It’s only a good, aggressive move if it works. You’ve got to make sure you make it. Otherwise, it’s a dumb . . . play, and that’s exactly what it was.”

Everywhere Roberts turned in the clubhouse, people were talking about his blunder. He couldn’t sit down and enjoy his meal before he found himself surrounded by reporters, asking just what was going through his mind.

“What can I say?” Roberts said, “I cost us the game today. And that’s not a good feeling.”

Roberts explained that his idea was to fake toward third, draw the throw toward him, making sure that Rasmussen scored. Well, once Roberts made the fake, he decided that he might as well test Stubbs’ arm.

“Bip’s a pretty good runner, so I understood his thinking,” Stubbs said. “He decided to challenge me. I’m a competitor, I’ll take a chance with the throw, and see what happens.”

The throw was right on target, and with the slow-footed Rasmussen on third, he never had a chance to score before Roberts was tagged.

Funny how these ugly events seem to follow Rasmussen (4-8) this season, and after this one, he didn’t attempt to disguise his disgust.

“That stuff should never happen, it can’t happen,” Rasmussen said. “I knew there was no way he was going to throw me out. You just can’t do that.”

Rasmussen refused to get rattled after the play. He pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning, and sat back on the bench awaiting his teammates to finally break loose in the sixth.

Chris James led off with a single, extending his hitting streak to 10 games, and Carmelo Martinez followed with a ground-rule double. Would you believe that with runners on second and third, the Padres again could not score?

“I don’t take anything for granted anymore,” Rasmussen said.

It started when Garry Templeton hit a ground ball to third. James broke for home the moment the ball left Templeton’s bat, but third baseman Jeff Hamilton calmly picked it up, and catcher Rick Dempsey was holding the ball when James came barreling in. He lowered his shoulder, knocked Dempsey over, and Dempsey stood up proudly holding the ball.

McKeon said he stood up, wondering, “Why the hell (Martinez) wasn’t at third?”

Martinez’s response: “I’m tired of people blaming me for everything. I didn’t ask to be in the lineup today.”

Benito Santiago continued the string of misfortune by flying to short right field. But although Rasmussen drew a walk, loading the bases, Roberts grounded out, ending the inning.

Finally, Rasmussen reached his breaking point. He opened the bottom of the sixth by retiring Willie Randolph on a fly ball to center. He then walked Eddie Murray and Mike Marshall in succession. Then he threw a wild pitch. He induced Hamilton to fly out to right field for the second out. And then stood on the mound when pitching coach Pat Dobson came out to discuss strategy to right-handed hitter Jose Gonzalez.

Dobson and McKeon said that with first base open, the decision was left to Rasmussen if he wanted to pitch to Gonzales. Rasmussen said his mind was made up for him on the mound. Whatever, Gonzalez was walked, bringing up Stubbs, a left-handed hitter.

The Padres figured the pitching matchup was in their favor, lefty vs. lefty. But Stubbs was hitting .462 (six for 13) against the Padres this season, and had a lifetime .750 batting average (three for four) against Rasmussen.

Rasmussen walked him on five pitches, forcing in a run.

The Padres came back to tie it in the seventh on Clark’s solo homer deep into the Dodger bullpen, but Rasmussen could not get out of the seventh, and Marshall’s two-run double off Mark Grant was the knockout punch.

Dodger bullpen stopper Jay Howell retired the final six Padre batters, equaling a club record with his 24th save, and the Padres were left cursing among themselves on the bus ride home.

“These are the kind of games you’ve got to forget about,” Roberts said. “Hopefully, people will hurry up and forget about mine.”

Padre Notes

The Dodgers placed outfielder Kal Daniels and infielder/outfielder Mickey Hatcher on the 15-day disabled list Sunday. They purchased the contracts of outfielder Mike Huff and infielder Mike Sharperson from their triple-A club in Albuquerque. The Dodgers have made 17 disabled list moves this year, compared to 11 all of last season. . . . Dodger reliever Jay Howell has been successful in his past 15 save opportunities this season, and has been scored upon just five times in 44 outings.. . . Before Sunday’s game, the Padres were mediocre across the board. They were 55-55 overall, 26-26 at home, 29-29 on the road, 7-7 against left-handed starters on the road, 8-8 against left-handed starters at home, 19-19 against right-handed starters at home, 21-21 against right-handed starters on the road.