Padres Too Tough for Dodgers; Cut the Reds’ Lead to 5 1/2 in West

Bip Roberts knew he was in pain the moment his right leg slid across home-plate, scoring the winning run Sunday in the Padres’ 2-1, 10th-inning victory over the Dodgers.

The prudent action would have been for him to limp slowly off the field. Maybe even sit at home plate, waiting for the trainers to come and examine him. At the very least, get up slowly, and make sure nothing was wrong.

His mind kept telling him to react cautiously.

His body had other ideas.

Sliding past Dodger catcher Mike Scioscia on Roberto Alomar’s single to center, Roberts leaped to his feet, pumped his arm in the air to the screaming 25,509 fans at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, and was mugged by the onslaught of his teammates pouring out of the dugout.

It wasn’t until first baseman Jack Clark picked up the little man in his arms, squeezing tight, that Roberts yelled, letting everyone know that he was in some pain.

“It really wasn’t too smart on my part, either,” Clark said. “I could have have messed up my back again.”

But in times like this, with the Padres winning 12 of the past 16 games, and moving to within 5 1/2 games of the slumping Cincinnati Reds, the guys somehow forget all about hamstring contusions and herniated discs.

The Padres (30-25), who earlier this week were written off in the National League West race by a Cincinnati newspaper, not only are knocking on the door, but are threatening to break the damn thing in.

“We knew they (the Reds) couldn’t stay hot all season,” Roberts said, “and we weren’t going to play bad all season. The way things are going, I think it’s all going to work out just fine.”

Oh, and the leg, which had Roberts limping out of the clubhouse late in the afternoon after receiving treatment?

“It hurts like hell,” Roberts said, “but it would have hurt a whole lot more if I was out. I’ll be fine by Tuesday. There’s no way I want to come out of that lineup.”

Who can blame him? With the way the Padres are going, no one wants to take a day off any more.

Why else do you think you had relievers Craig Lefferts and Greg Harris pitching for the fourth consecutive game? Why else do you think shortstop Garry Templeton has taken just one day off since April 26? And why else do you think that instead of taking a day off today, Padre Manager Jack McKeon plans to come into the stadium and work anyway?

The metamorphosis isn’t restricted to only the Padres, either. Would you believe it, only one beach ball was sighted in the stands Sunday. No wonder Tom Werner, the incoming Padre chairman and managing partner, grabbed his wife and abandoned their luxury box seats in the sixth inning, and headed downstairs to sit with the rest of the fans for a close-hand view.

“The fun’s just starting,” said Alomar, who raised his batting average to .336, going three for five and driving in both of the Padres’ runs. “Ever since we had that team meeting (May 24) in New York, we’ve been playing some great baseball.

“We’re playing nine innings hard. We never give up. Before, it seems like we were giving up when we’d get behind early.

“Not now.”

The Padres, these same group of guys who had gone six weeks without winning a single game when trailing after the sixth inning, suddenly have won three games in the past 11 days in which they have overcome deficits in the seventh inning or later.

This time, it was Dodger starter Ramon Martinez who paid the price. Cruising along with a five-hitter through the first seven innings, Martinez found out about this Padre magic in a hurry.

Catcher Benito Santiago, one of four Padre regulars who are batting at least .300, opened the eighth with a single up the middle. Roberts sacrificed him to second with a bunt. And Alomar, who’s batting .418 with runners in scoring position, hit a double to right-center, scoring Santiago.

The Padres appeared prime to put the game away when Tim Crews relieved Martinez, and intentionally walked Tony Gwynn, and unintentionally walked Joe Carter, loading the bases. But Jack Clark, who had previously struck out three times, grounded into a double play.

Just how worried were the Padres? Clark popped a bubble with his gum, confident that there would be another opportunity. Lefferts and Harris retired all eight batters they faced, allowing just one ball to be hit out of the infield. And then came the 10th, when the top of the order was up again.

Roberts, starting at shortstop for the first time this season, was hit in the right hand by Dodger reliever Jay Howell. His next pitch sailed past catcher Mike Scioscia, allowing Roberts to scoot to second. Howell then got ahead of Alomar on a 1-2 count, but couldn’t get that third strike past him, with Alomar fouling back four consecutive pitches.

Scioscia went to the mound for a strategy talk with Howell. This stuff was going to have to stop. Instead of a curveball, they decided, they were going to sneak a fastball past Alomar.

Oops.

“I was looking for a fastball the whole way, and he threw it right where I wanted,” Alomar said.

So you can guess what happened. Alomar stroked the ball into center field, Roberts rounded third, and slid across home just ahead of Kirk Gibson’s throw.

Better luck next time, fellas.

“These guys are not letting up,” Dodger third baseman Lenny Harris said. “It’s going to be tough to beat them. It’s like they are never out of it. It’s like they are coming at you every inning. These guys were right on us.”

Harris was the man who ended Padre starter Andy Benes’ no-hit bid with one out in the sixth inning when he hit his first home run of the season, and singled again in the eighth, driving Benes out of the game. Enter Lefferts. Five up, five down. Harris’ turn. Three up, three down.

The Dodgers didn’t have a prayer. They got a season-low three hits, and with the exception of the fifth and sixth, had just one batter reach base in the other eight innings. The Dodgers limped out of town wondering what hit them.

Shh, we won’t even tell them that Harris admitted after the game that he is pitching with a tired arm, and that Lefferts had to resort to throwing almost all breaking balls.

“Sometimes, you have to go out there with a tired arm,” Lefferts said. “I was thinking of going in and asking Jack (McKeon) if I could have the day off tomorrow.”

But it’s an off day, anyway.

“I just wanted to make sure it was an off-day for me too,” Lefferts said, with a mischievous smile.

Harris, who has shown signs of fatigue recently, said: “I think I’m just going through a dead-arm period right now. I don’t have the same zip I had two, three weeks ago.”

Hmm, so you might consider then going in and seeing the boss, asking for a couple of days off?

“You kidding,” Harris said. “The way we’re going, and at the pace we’re playing, no way.”

So it goes. The Padres win again, making up 4 1/2 games on the Reds in six days, and are the closest they have been to first place since May 4.

The Padres’ secret? Clutch hitting, you say? Maybe late-inning pitching?

Nope, let Werner explain.

You see, Leon Parma, one of the Padres’ prospective general partners, was traveling in Europe recently with former President Gerald Ford when they received an audience with the Pope. The conversation led from one thing to another, as Werner tells it, when Parma told the Pope that he soon would be part-owner of the Padres.

“Well, he wanted to know all about the Padres,” Werner said, “and he was fascinated by the name. Leon then asked the Pope if he could bless his Padres pin.”

He blessed it all right, Werner said, but then the Pope asked if he could keep the pin. What was Parma to do?

“It was unfortunate for Leon,” Werner said, “but that’s OK, we’re considering asking the Pope to throw out the first pitch (in the playoffs or World Series).”

And you wondered why the Padres are winning.

Padre Notes

The city of San Diego, which leases San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, has approved the sale of the Padres to Tom Werner’s ownership group, it was announced Sunday. Werner and Padre President Dick Freeman will fly to Cleveland on Tuesday to the Major League Baseball owners meeting, where he is expected to receive approval by the necessary three-quarters vote of the National League owners and simple majority vote of the American League owners. . . . Werner also announced Sunday the identities of the five new general partners who have joined his group--expanding it to 15: Bruce C. Corwin of Los Angeles, president of Metropolitan Theatres Corporation; John E. Earhart of Corona del Mar, who is a Senior Fellow for Forestry with the World Wildlife Fund-U.S./The Conservation Foundation; Keith Matson of San Diego, developer of Lomas Verdes Estates and Old Winery Estates in San Diego; Michael Monk of Los Angeles, a partner in the law firm of Pepper, Hamilton and Scheets; and Peter Peckham of San Diego, president of Investcal Realty Corporation. “We’ve got enough people now for a partners-players baseball game,” Werner said. . . . Werner confirmed that Jerry Kapstein, the son-in-law of Padre Owner Joan Kroc, will not be involved in any capacity with the Padre front office. “We respect Jerry,” Werner said, “but we will be talking to him only as a friend.” . . . Werner will continue living in Los Angeles, but has just leased a home in Del Mar. “We’re looking to eventually buy a home down here,” Werner said, “but please, don’t tell the realtors.” . . . The Padres have signed 29 of their 53 selections in the June Free Agent Draft. Of the 29 players, there are 11 pitchers, three catchers, nine infielders and six outfielders. They have signed 19 from four-year colleges, five from junior colleges and five from high schools. The California players signed are outfielder William Adams of Altadena; shortstop Brenden Bish of Los Angeles; first baseman David Mowry of Glendora; Jeffry Pearce of Sebastopol; and catcher James West of San Francisco. . . . Who needs a weatherman when you have Padre starter Andy Benes? Once again, Benes’ start brought rain, delaying the start of the game. He now has had two games rained out this season, two starts delayed by rain, and two rain delays in the middle of one game. . . . The San Francisco Giants have shuffled their pitching rotation for the Padre series beginning Tuesday. Don Robinson still will start Tuesday, but now Trevor Wilson will start Wednesday instead of Bob Knepper, and Francisco Oliveras (0-0) will start Thursday instead of Atlee Hammaker.

Dodger Notes

Despite some recent promising performances from Tim Crews and Don Aase, the Dodger bullpen situation grew even worse following Sunday’s game when they were forced to recall a disabled pitcher from triple-A Albuquerque when Pat Perry was placed on the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his left shoulder. Returning to the Dodgers is pitcher Mike Hartley, who recently was sidelined with a strained groin but was scheduled to return to the Albuquerque roster this week. In three appearances at Albuquerque, Hartley had two saves with no allowed runs. Perry said he overworked his arm during the recent trip, when he threw three straight days in St. Louis and Pittsburgh after having not pitched since last September.

PADRE ATTENDANCE Sunday 25,509

1990 (34 dates): 890,755

1989 (34 dates): 887,920

Increase: 2,835

1990 Average: 26,199