2-1 Loss Shows Padres Reds Are Now for Real

It was a couple of weeks ago, when baseball was being played in Arizona and Florida, that Padre Manager Jack McKeon began assessing the National League West, pondering who would give his club the most trouble.

He talked about the Dodgers because of their pitching. He mentioned San Francisco because of its offense. He even said Atlanta and its young pitching staff would cause its share of problems.

Then someone brought up the Cincinnati Reds. Just what are their chances of winning the division? Aren’t they always a major threat?

“You know something,” McKeon said that day, “every year for the last four years I’ve picked them. Every year, I say they have the most talent in baseball. Every year I expect them to be right there.

“But I’ve given up on them; for some reason, they never can get that talent out, so I can’t see things changing this year.”

Well, after the Reds’ 2-1 victory over the Padres Tuesday afternoon, McKeon was wondering if he could, uh, slightly amend that opinion.

The Reds, after eight days of the regular season, remain the only undefeated team in baseball with a 7-0 record.

Playing their traditional home opener in front of 38,384 at Riverfront Stadium a week late because of the lockout, the Reds now are just one game shy of equaling their best start in franchise history, 8-0 in 1980. Of course, that was the year they also finished third, marking the beginning of a decade-long drought after six division titles in the ‘70s.

“I don’t see that (a fold to third) happening again this time,” Reds center fielder Eric Davis said. “This team is just too good, and for the first time in a long time, we really feel good about each other.”

Maybe this could be like the 1869-70 team, someone joked. The Red Stockings won all 69 of their games in ’69 and didn’t lose until well into the next season, after 130 victories in a row.

“I know we won’t go 162-0,” Davis said with all seriousness, “that’s just impossible. But winning 159 games, hmm, you wonder with the way we’re playing.

“To tell you the truth, I think it’s going to come down to us and the Padres, neck-and-neck all the way. And I like our chances.”

McKeon certainly isn’t diminishing his club’s chances of winning the division after just one game against the Reds, particularly considering that after tonight they won’t play one another again until July 23. But this is a Reds team that looks different than any they’ve seen in recent years.

“This is an impressive team, a very impressive team,” McKeon said. “I think in the past, maybe they couldn’t play up to their potential because of Pete (Rose). I don’t know what it was, maybe the pressure that Pete created or the attention that was always on him and not the team, but they just couldn’t put it together.

“It’s far too early to say this team will either, but from what I saw today, they look like they’ll definitely cause some problems.”

The Reds proved once again Tuesday to be a team that can hurt you in many ways. This was the first time this season that they failed to obtain at least 10 hits, and even with their nine hits and five walks, they left 11 runners stranded. So the Reds instead resorted to pitching.

Starter Tom Browning went out and made one mistake, a home run pitch to Benito Santiago in the seventh inning. Reds Manager Lou Piniella summoned his bullpen, calling on Norm Charlton and Randy Myers. Three innings and five strikeouts later, the game was over.

The Padres did manage one final threat in the ninth, putting runners on first and second with one out and causing outfielder Tony Gwynn to later say, “I was getting that same feeling again, I thought we were going to come back and win, just like we did in San Francisco.”

But as the Padres (5-3) learned, there’s an awfully big difference between Dan Quisenberry and Randy Myers, and the game ended with pinch-hitter Mark Parent striking out and pinch-hitter Joey Cora grounding out.

“There’s a different look about those guys,” Gwynn said. “They’re just so confident right now. When you’re unbeaten like they are, you start thinking there’s no one better than you are. They don’t think anybody’s going to beat them.

“And you know what, no one’s proven them wrong, yet.”

Take a look at these guys:

You want hitting? The Reds are batting .316, averaging 5.9 runs a game. The top three batters in their lineup are hitting .429.

You want pitching? The staff owns a 2.35 ERA, yielding just 57 hits in 65 innings while striking out 60. One of those strikeout victims just happened to be Gwynn, who took a called third strike in the eighth inning, ending the longest streak without a strikeout in the big leagues. He had gone 119 plate-appearances and 106 at-bats since last striking out Sept. 6 against Houston.

You want defense? The Reds have made just three errors, and their catchers have thrown out all five baserunners who have attempted to steal. Twice Tuesday, Roberto Alomar attempted to steal off catcher Joe Oliver. Twice, he was thrown out.”

And you want phenomena? Try shortstop Barry Larkin. “What’s he hitting, .790?” asked Andy Benes, the Padres’ starting pitcher. Close: .594. Larkin went three for four Tuesday and has at least two hits in every game.

Phenomenon II: The Reds’ offense doesn’t even seem to miss Davis, the Reds’ two-time MVP, who’s hitting just .129 and was hitless in three at-bats Tuesday. What will happen once he gets untracked?

Phenomenon III: A telegram was awaiting Piniella when he arrived to his office Tuesday morning. It was from New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, who fired Piniella. It read: “Good luck in the opener. Keep it going. See you in October.”

“You know, you never expect to go 7-0,” Piniella said, “but this is no accident.”

It’s also no coincidence that the Reds are winning under Piniella, the players say, now that Pete Rose has departed.

“You always heard all that talk about the Big Red Machine,” Charlton said. “Not with that guy (Rose). It was like the Big Red Machine was managing the little red machine. It was pathetic.”

Said reliever Rob Dibble: “He’s (Piniella) not here for the pay. He’s not here for the acclaim. He’s here for the players. It wasn’t like that before.

“Lou’s totally team-oriented. He’s into every pitch, every at-bat. I haven’t seen him sit down in seven games.”

And so it goes. The Reds still have 155 games remaining. A lot can happen. But for the first time in a long time, the media mob that descended from all parts of the country was asking questions about a winning streak, not Pete Rose.

“Seven and oh doesn’t make a season,” Larkin said, “but it sure makes one hell of a start.”

Padre Notes

Jack McKeon and Lou Piniella patched up their differences before the game, hugging one another at home plate during introductions. They had taken shots at each other in their respective books, Piniella criticizing McKeon’s skills when he was with Kansas City and McKeon accusing Piniella about being the most selfish player he ever managed in 1973. “That was a long time ago,” McKeon said. “I’ve changed, and so has he. I think we’ve both matured.” . . . Padre second baseman Roberto Alomar went three for three but was thrown out twice trying to steal. He has hit safely in all seven games. . . . Padre catcher Mark Parent on his .500 batting average (two for four): “It’s the first time I’ve ever been hitting my weight.” . . . Several Padres spent their day off Monday fishing. Left fielder Jerald Clark took top honors with 11 fish caught; right fielder Tony Gwynn caught the biggest, a four-pound bass. . . . Monday was the first day since the end of spring training that Padre reliever Greg Harris did not either warm up for or pitch in a game. So what did he do Tuesday? He lifted weights in the morning and warmed up in the afternoon. . . . This was the Padres’ fourth opening day ceremony this season. “It’s enough to last a lifetime,” Gwynn said. “Today was unbelievable. There were parades, there were lunches, heck, there was even an elephant on the field. Now, I know I’ve never seen that before.” . . . The Padres have played seven consecutive games and 70 innings without an error. . . . Padre left fielder Fred Lynn was sick Tuesday, but McKeon was planning on using Darrin Jackson in the outfield, anyway. Jackson went 0 for 4, striking out twice and hitting two fly balls to right. . . . The Padres are 4-0 in regular games, 1-3 in opening day games. . . . The Padres will conclude their trip with a 4:35 game tonight. Dennis Rasmussen (0-0) and Danny Jackson (0-0) are the scheduled starters.