Padres, Show End Droughts

At a time when the Padres were looking for a sign that all is not lost in a season of failed expectations, along came Eric Show Wednesday night to provide some relief and hope.

Show, the winningest pitcher in Padre history but without a victory in more than a year, took a prideful step back to respectability.

He pitched five innings of three-hit relief in a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, making him a winner for the first time since June 19, 1989.

That was two weeks before the back trouble that would lead to disc surgery, sideline Show for the final three months of last season and begin what has been the most trying year of his major league life.

The comeback has been anything but smooth.

“I didn’t enjoy having to sit in the bullpen in a 14-inning game and be the last one down there,” he said. “You have drunks down in left field yelling, ‘We want Show.’ It doesn’t do a lot for the psyche.”

Show returned this season, proclaiming himself fit, but proceeded to lose five of his first six starts and was dropped from the rotation. The last of those starts was a 15-0 loss to Montreal May 13 in which he gave up seven runs in 2 1/3 innings.

Since then, he has languished in the bullpen, mostly called upon in long relief situations that hardly could be called crucial. And when he did enter a game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, it was to accompanying jeers from the hometown fans.

Wednesday night was no exception, even if the gathering of 10,897 was the smallest home crowd of the season. But Show soon turned the boos to cheers. And not just because of his pitching. Show singled home two runs in a four-run second inning.

“He really broke it open with that hit,” Manager Jack McKeon said. “We’ve been looking for our regulars to do that for a week.”

Until Wednesday night, most of the talk concerning Show of late had been about a trade, but even there, the facts cut cruel: No one wanted him.

He entered the game with an 0-6 record, a 7.84 ERA and a lot to prove. the numbers don’t look a whole lot better this morning--1-6 and 6.99--but at least Show had reason to feel a little different.

“Being 0-6 with a seven-something ERA, I couldn’t believe it was me,” Show said. “It was like a dream.”

The outing matched Show’s longest relief appearance of the season--five innings in 6-3 loss at the Dodgers June 17. But Show said this felt much better.

“This is the best I’ve pitched all year,” Show said.

The victory ended a seven-game team losing streak--the Padres’ longest since a similar slide June 6-13, 1989.

It also was their first victory in eight games against the Pirates and moved them to within 11 1/2 of first-place Cincinnati in the NL West.

Show was not the only one who helped the Padres snap out of their funk.

Second baseman Roberto Alomar, who was benched the night before while in the midst of his worst slump of the season (two for 26), went three for four with two runs scored. Batting in the No. 6 spot, he ended an zero-for-14 streak with a second-inning single and followed that with a leadoff homer in the fourth.

And the Padre bullpen, which had been charged with five of the team’s last six losses, not only received a boost from Show but had Rich Rodriquez come on to pitch a respectable 2 1/3 innings before Greg Harris came on for the final two outs to earn his fifth save.

Harris got the Padres out of a final jam after Bobby Bonilla had hit a one-out double off the right-center field wall to score Jay Bell, who had led off the inning with a single, and make it 5-4. Harris, appearing his fourth consecutive game and sixth in the past seven, ended it when he got Barry Bonds to hit a sharp liner to shortstop Garry Templeton.

Templeton leaped to knock the ball down with his glove, bobbled it slightly before holding it for the out and then stepped on second to double off Bonilla.

“That ball was a shot,” Templeton said. “I just timed the jump right.”

The game hardly started as if this would be the one that would end the Padres’ eight-game home losing streak, their longest since they lost nine in a row at home in August, 1980. Starting pitcher Mike Dunne was gone almost before the the game began.

Dunne, in his short appearance, was quite charitable in his first work against his old teammates. After a one-two-three first inning, he walked the first three Pirate batters in the second, the last--catcher Mike LaValliere--on four pitches.

That was enough for McKeon, who called for Show.

It was not the quickest hook of the season for Dunne, who was called up May 14 from triple-A Las Vegas, where he was on a rehabilitation assignment after off-season shoulder surgery. He lasted just a a third of an inning in a 6-1 loss to Atlanta June 1, yielding four hits, two walks and four runs.

Show gave up an RBI single to second baseman Jose Lind before getting pitcher Neal Heaton to ground into a double play that scored first baseman Sid Bream with the second Pirate run. But after a walk to third baseman Wally Backman, Show ended the inning by making Bell pop out to second.

But Show might have saved his best work of the night for the bottom half of the inning.

With the bases loaded and two out, Show stroked a sharp single up the middle off Heaton, leading to three runs. Alomar and Templeton scored on the hit, and when center fielder Andy Van Slyke’s throw skipped past LaValliere and into the Padre dugout, catcher Ronn Reynolds scored to put the Padres ahead, 3-2.

“I used to believe I could hit a little bit,” Show said. “But then I also believed I could still pitch. I was just trying to put the ball in play and not over-swing.”

The hit brought the first of several rounds of cheers on the night for Show, who had gone a year without hearing the sustained applause of a Padre crowd.

Heaton (10-4) then temporarily lost his control, hitting Bip Roberts and then throwing a wild outside pitch in the dirt that Thomas Howard lunged at, allowing Show to score from third to make the score 4-2.

Alomar added a lead-off home run in the fourth off Heaton to give the Padres a 5-2 lead.

The Pirates got the run back in the fifth when they loaded the bases with one out on a throwing error by Roberts on a grounder by Bell, a walk to Van Slyke and a single by Bonilla. Bonds then drove home Bell with a sacrifice fly to left to cut the lead to 5-3.

Show left for a pinch-hitter in the sixth after 83 pitches and allowing one unearned run. And with the help of Rodriquez and Harris, he earned his first relief victory since June 26, 1982 and his 95th victory as a Padre against 85 losses.

“If someone told me I wouldn’t have my first victory until July 4, I wouldn’t believe it could be true,” Show said. “I’ve been surprised by a lot of what has happened.”

Padre Notes

Catcher Benito Santiago was the only Padre voted into the National League starting lineup for the All-Star game Tuesday at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. It was the second year in a row for Santiago, but he will not play although he said he will attend. He has been on the disabled list since June 15 with a broken left forearm and is not expected back until late July or early August. Santiago had 1,785,412 votes, more than 1.2 million ahead of the Dodgers’ Mike Scioscia and nearly a half million more than he received last year. Roberto Alomar was second to runaway winner Ryne Sandberg of Chicago at second base. Alomar finished with 529,390, more than 1.7 million behind Sandberg, the NL’s overall leader in votes. Tony Gwynn was fourth in the balloting for the three outfield spots behind Andre Dawson of Chicago, Len Dykstra of Philadelphia and Kevin Mitchell of San Francisco. Gwynn had 1,143,282 votes; Mitchell had 1,348,930. Gwynn, a four-time all-star starter, had been third in the most recent count. . . . Thomas Howard, who was one for four in his major league debut Tuesday after being called up from triple-A Las Vegas, made his second start in left field. He committed an error when he dropped a fly ball by Jeff King with two outs in the eighth. . . . The Padres are 10-11 record in July 4 games, 7-5 at home.

PADRES AT A GLANCEScorecard

SECOND INNING

Pirates--Bonds walked and stole second. Bream walked. LaValliere walked, loading the bases. Show replaced Dunne. Lind singled to center, Bonds scoring, bases still loaded. Heaton grounded into double play, Bream scoring, LaValliere stopping at third. Backman walked. Bell popped to second. Two runs, one hit, two left. Pirates 2, Padres 0.

Padres--With one out, Clark singled to left. Alomar singled to left, Clark stopping at second. Templeton forced Clark. Reynolds walked, loading the bases. Show singled to center, Alomar and Templeton scoring, Reynolds scoring on throwing error by center fielder Van Slyke, Show taking third. Roberts hit by pitch. Show scored on wild pitch. Howard struck out. Four runs (three earned), three hits, one left. Padres 4, Pirates 2.

FOURTH INNING

Padres--Alomar homered to left, his fourth. Templeton grounded to short. Reynolds grounded to second. Show flied to center. One run, one hit. Padres 5, Pirates 2.

FIFTH INNING

Pirates--With one out, Bell reached first on throwing error by third baseman Roberts and stole second. Van Slyke walked. Bonilla singled to left, loading the bases. Bonds flied to left, Bell scoring. Bream flied to right. One run (unearned), one hit, two left. Padres 5, Pirates 3.

NINTH INNING

Pirates--Bell singled to left. Van Slyke struck out. Bonilla doubled to left center, Bell scoring. Harris replaced Rodriguez. Bonds lined to shortstop, Bonilla doubled off second by Templeton. One run, two hits. Padres 5, Pirates 4.