Riddoch, Padres Find a Victory : Baseball: The team stopped its four-game losing streak and ended its worst four-week skid since 1981, defeating the Pirates, 4-1, for the new manager’s first victory.

Music blared Sunday afternoon in the clubhouse. Shrieks of laughter pierced the air. Toasts took place with cans of beer. Reliever Craig Lefferts was even seen dancing.

The Padres, who had gone through three roster moves, two coaches and one manager since their last victory eight days ago, were winners once again.

“Ah, so this is what it feels like,” Padre catcher Mark Parent said, gulping a beer. “I think we had forgotten what a win was. Maybe we should do this again some time.”

The Padres stopped their four-game losing streak Sunday, and ended their worst four-week skid since 1981 when they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1, with 32,489 fans on hand as witnesses at Three Rivers Stadium.

Just what kind of a slump had the Padres been in?

Well, let’s put it this way, their three-run margin of victory was the Padres’ largest since June 26, and their second-largest since June 8. The Padres had lost 15 of their 18 games, and 21 of 28 before finally beating the Pirates for just the second time in 12 games this season.

But while it was a game in which all kinds of slumps came to a halt, it was a victory that belonged to Greg Riddoch.

It had been 99 hours and eight minutes since being introduced Wednesday as the 13th manager in Padre history when Gregory Lee Riddoch watched the final out drop into the glove of third baseman Eddie Williams. He clenched his fist, turned around and shook hands with pitching coach Pat Dobson, and bounded onto the field, celebrating his first victory as a major league manager.

“I’m not so much happy for me,” Riddoch said, “as I was for the guys out there. I wanted this for them. They deserved it.”

But wasn’t there at least some personal satisfaction?

“Well, to tell you the truth,” Riddoch said, “I did breathe a sigh of relief. I didn’t want these guys going to Chicago wondering how long we’d go without wining one.”

Riddoch might have been downplaying the importance of the victory for himself, but for his players, they were the ones saying how badly they wanted it for him.

“From the players’ standpoint,” said right fielder Tony Gwynn, “we really wanted to get a win for him.

“He might be saying it wasn’t that big for him, but deep down, I’m sure it’s a big deal. He might not admit, but I saw him carrying the lineup card back to his office.

“I’ve still got a bottle of champagne back in my locker at home for making the All-Star Game, and I plan on giving him that when we get back.”

Said Parent: “As soon as Eddie caught that ball, I made sure that he threw it to me so I could give it to Greg. I’m sure that ball will be very special for him.”

Ed Whitson, who allowed just four hits and one run in seven innings to win his first game since June 23, perhaps had the most innovative celebratory surprise awaiting Riddoch. You see, the two of them, along with Jack Clark, plan to go fishing together one morning this week in St. Louis. Now, shhh, don’t tell anybody, but when they go on that fishing expedition . . .

“I’m going to throw him in the water,” Whitson said. “He knows I’m going to get him sooner or later, and that’ll be the perfect time. Just wait.”

Yes, the boys are having fun again.

The victory was Riddoch’s first as manager at any level since 1981 when he was managing the Eugene Emeralds and had Cincinnati Reds’ outfielder Eric Davis on the team. Really, it was the last time he ever thought he’d be on the field as skipper, and instead had designs of one day being a general manager.

But when Padre chairman Tom Werner promoted him from coach to manager, replacing Jack McKeon, “I was thrown a lifeboat,” Riddoch said, “and it became time for me to start paddling.”

It figures to still take time for the Padres to iron out the kinks, and play the kind of game Riddoch has in mind, but for the first time Sunday, they at least resembled the team that Riddoch desires.

“That’s why this win today was so satisfying,” Riddoch said. “It feels not only good to win, but to do it in the right fashion. We played good defense, we hit-and-ran, we hit with runners in scoring position, and we got great pitching.

“If we do those kinds of things consistently, we’ll be successful.”

Of course, it helps too when you have a pitcher on the mound who has not lost to the Pirates since July 26, 1983. Whitson is 5-0 with a 1.17 ERA against the Pirates the past two seasons, making them pay dearly each time for trading him away in 1979.

“I won Lou Piniella’s first game in the big leagues,” said Whitson, recalling his Yankee days, “and I told my wife last night that if they get me a few runs, I’ll win Greg Riddoch’s first game, too.

“I was going to tell him that this morning, but I didn’t want to jinx him, or anything, so I waited until after the game. I just knew I was going to win that game for him.”

Riddoch also received a couple of other nice presents from some of his hitters. Not only did the Padres lead a game from start to finish for the first time since June 26, they showed a rarity of power.

Gwynn homered in the first inning for his fourth of the season, equaling his entire 1989 total. Williams hit a solo shot in the fourth inning, his first major league homer since June 30, 1989, when he was playing for the Chicago White Sox. Jack Clark homered in the eighth, his first on the road since June 24. You add them up, and what do you know, the Padres had three homers in a game for the first time since June 3 against the Dodgers.

But perhaps more important than a victory, or the Padres’ home run outburst, is the vigor and spunk that suddenly has emerged on this team.

There was center fielder Joe Carter, who was informed Sunday morning by trainer Dick Dent that he likely has a broken big left toe. But instead of sitting out, he pinch-hit in the eighth inning, extending his consecutive-game streak to 265.

“I’m pretty sure it’s broken, but what are you going to do,” Carter said. “I told Greg I can go, and he said, ‘Are you sure?’ I was the only right-handed pinch-hitter we had left, anyway, so it made sense.

“It was nice to continue the streak, but what we needed today was a win, not my playing streak. Don’t worry, I’ll tape it up and be in there tomorrow.”

There were Mike Pagliarulo and Fred Lynn, who didn’t play Sunday, actually taking batting practice after the game, before the team flight to Chicago.

“I’ve been with this team since it started,” said Doc Mattei, Padre traveling secretary, “and this is the first time in its 22-year history that I’ve ever seen guys taking batting practice after a game on a getaway day.”

And there was Lefferts, who actually was seen talking to himself on the mound Sunday, while earning his first save since June 23.

“I’m pitching with a lot more intensity now,” said Lefferts, who has pitched five consecutive shutout innings since the All-Star break. “I was talking to myself with every pitch out there, firing myself up. I’ve had some time off now, and it’s like all the difference in the world.

“Before, I didn’t have the zip on my fastball, or a bite on my slider. That’s why I wasn’t striking out anyone. I think you saw the difference (with four strikeouts in two innings) today.”

So, could Sunday’s game be a reflection on what’s to come for the Padres?

“I don’t think anyone knows what will happen, but considering the way we had been playing,” Clark said, “anything’s got to be an improvement.”

Who could argue.

Padre Notes

Bip Roberts, the Padres’ leadoff hitter, had his two upper wisdom teeth extracted Saturday night, and was unavailable for the game. He’s expected, however, to return today to the lineup. “I still need to get two more out of there,” Roberts said, “but I’ll wait until the end of the season. Well, to be more exact, the day right after the season. I couldn’t believe how much pain these caused me. One came out real easy, but the other one was really infected. They gave me some pain-killers, but I couldn’t sleep at all. I was awake all night long. Hopefully, I’ll sleep like a baby tonight, and be ready for the Cubs.”

Trade talks with the Kansas City Royals have been temporarily put on hold because of a possible torn groin muscle suffered Friday by outfielder Danny Tartabull, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list. The Padres had talked about re-acquiring reliever Mark Davis, and either Bo Jackson or Tartabull, but sources close to the Royals say they likely will not be able to make a trade until Tartabull is recovered. . . . Clark has hit 22 home runs at Three Rivers Stadium, the most he has hit at a National League visiting park with the exception of San Francisco and St. Louis, where he once played. . . . Pat Dobson, Padre pitching coach, returned to the team Sunday after a two-day absence because he was participating in the Equitable Old-Timers’ game in New York. Dobson, a former 20-game winner, faced two batters in the game, and retired them both. He got Bernie Allen out on a groundout, and induced a fly ball by Elliott Maddox. “It was great,” Dobson said, “five pitches, boom, and I was out of there.” . . . Although Joe Carter is second on the all-time consecutive game playing list, he still is 1,072 games behind leader Cal Ripken Jr. of Baltimore. The last game Carter has missed is Sept. 12, 1988. Jose Oquendo, the St. Louis Cardinals’ second baseman, is third on the list with 184 consecutive games played. . . . Upon hearing that Carter’s 433-foot homer Saturday that just missed being the second home run ever to reach the upper deck at Three Rivers Stadium, Pirate pitcher Bob Walk said, “(Darryl) Strawberry has hit some off me to center, but that just might be the all-timer. I almost wish it had made the upper deck.” Said Carter: “I put one up in the upper deck at Yankee Stadium once, but this one ranks right up there.” . . . Shawn Abner, who started in place of Carter, went two for four, his first two-hit game since June 12.