Padres Play With Full Deck, Deal Defeat to Phillies

It was a strange feeling for Padre Manager Greg Riddoch on Saturday afternoon when he sat down to make out his lineup card. He checked his injury report. He made sure there were no last-minute emergencies.

And then he pinched himself.

So this is what it’s like to finally field a lineup that represents the best he’s got.

The Padres, showing just what they’re capable of with an injury-free team with Jack Clark back in his usual cleanup spot, and Benito Santiago behind the plate, knocked off the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2, in front of a giddy crowd of 35,145.

Most of the fans, of course, showed up only to pick up their free T-shirts, but on this night, nothing could squelch the Padres’ enthusiasm.

This was the lineup that last had been intact on June 13, one manager, two coaches and 10 transactions ago. And, oh, what a difference it makes when Clark is batting cleanup, and Joe Carter and Santiago are sitting in the bottom of your order.

“You get two or three of those guys hacking,” Riddoch said, “and it could be dangerous. I’d like to keep putting that lineup on the field and see what happens.”

It was Clark, who was back in the lineup as the Padres’ cleanup hitter for the first time since Aug. 9, who once again showed his vitality to the Padre offense.

The Padres had managed just 10 runs and three extra-base hits in their previous 51 innings when Clark stepped to the plate in the sixth inning.

Phil Stephenson, who led off the inning with a bunt single, was standing on third base. Tony Gwynn, who had a two-out single, was on first. Tommy Greene, who was making his first career start with the Phillies, was on the mound.

Clark worked the count to 3-2 on Greene. He was about to throw the next pitch when Phillie first baseman John Kruk came to the mound, and reminded him to keep Gwynn close to the first-base bag. Greene nodded, and re-focused his attention on Clark.

He could walk him, of course, loading the bases. But the trouble was that Carter was the man on-deck, owner of a league-high 94 RBIs and 20 homers, including two grand slams.

Greene decided to throw a strike, a fastball.

Big mistake.

Clark hit a line drive that never got 25 feet above the ground, not stopping until it slammed off the left-field seats for a three-run homer.

Greene stayed in the game just long enough to see shortstop Dickie Thon slip while trying to field Carter’s ground ball, allowing him to reach first. Darrel Akerfelds relieved, but Carter greeted him rudely by stealing second and going to third on catcher Darren Daulton’s error. Santiago walked, and Carter came in with an insurance run on Mike Pagliarulo’s single to right.

“I don’t know what the phenomena is,” Riddoch said, “but when he (Clark) is going good, everyone else is, too. It’s been that way throughout his career. When he hits, everybody else hits.”

It all was enough to provide Andy Benes (9-8) with just his third victory since June 4, while the Padres scored their most runs in a victory against a National League East team since July 15.

Yeah, baby, it’s sure been a long wait, but the way Riddoch figures it, why mope about the last three months when you can find out for yourself just what these guys are capable of the final six weeks.

“Now we’ll know more about our strengths and weaknesses,” said Riddoch, gearing for the 1991 season considering that the Padres, 56-62, still are 12 games behind the Cincinnati Reds.

“I’d think by September we’d like to make some evaluations on what direction we’d like to go.”

Certainly, if Riddoch can retain a blueprint from Saturday’s game, perhaps the Padres finally can live up to their preseason expectations.

Really, it was just like they diagrammed in spring training. Andy Benes--who was expected to be the ace of the staff this season although he won’t turn 23 until Monday--allowed just two runs in six innings. They got two innings of shutout middle relief by Rich Rodriguez and bullpen ace, Greg Harris, who has not allowed a run in 16 innings. And Craig Lefferts, the man who was supposed to subside the pain of losing Mark Davis, made it look easy by pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 19th save of the season.

You know it was a banner night for the Padres when they go a complete game without making an error, handling 13 balls in the infield flawlessly. They even pulled off the unusual 5-6-3 play for the second consecutive night when Kruk’s ground ball bounced off Pagliarulo’s glove, to shortstop Garry Templeton, who threw to first base for the out.

It was a rare night for everyone in the Padre clubhouse to cherish, but perhaps more than anyone, it was Benes who most relished the victory.

This is a kid who was being billed this spring as the ace of the Padre staff. He was good enough to make the Olympic Team, be selected as the No. 1 pick in all of the land in the 1988 June free agent draft and go 6-3 in his 54-day stint last season, so why not have him carry the burden, right?

“It’s been tough on him,” said Pat Dobson, Padre pitching coach. “It seems like it’s been just one thing after another, after another. It just hasn’t been a normal year for him.

“He’s basically persevered, and hasn’t turned into a recluse or anything, but there’s sure been a lot of bull . . . he’s had to endure.

“Really, I’m proud of him.”

Benes earlier this season had to overcome a strange ailment that resulted in the loss of skin on his pitching hand, and then had overcome a pain in his left shoulder that occurred in July after a pushing incident with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was making his first start since Aug. 7 after leaving the team for a few days because of a domestic problem.

His biggest problems arose because of his failure to get out Kruk, who tripled and scored in the second inning, and singled and scored in the fourth. But otherwise, Benes was just fine.

“You’ll see,” Riddoch said, “his time will come.”

Who knows, maybe with this lineup, so will the Padres’.

Padre Notes

Dave Hollins, the Padres’ third baseman of the future until they made the grave mistake of not protecting him in the 1989 winter draft, is doing just fine in the Philadelphia Phillies organization where they too predict stardom. Hollins, drafted for $50,000 without any compensation, has made just 75 plate appearances for the Phillies, batting .162 with four homers and eight RBIs. But by being on the major league roster the entire season, the Phillies are not required to offer him back for a price of $25,000. “It’s a shame he hasn’t played much,” said Lee Thomas, Phillie general manager, “but we got him for the future. It may take a year or two, but we think he’ll be a good one.” Hollins, 24, is expected to play winter ball during the off-season, and then likely will start at third base next season for the triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre club. “If he plays well, who knows, he may be back with us for next year,” Thomas said.

What a difference a year makes? The Padres are 16-18 in one-run decisions this season, and 11-15 in two-run decisions, a combined total of 27-33. A year ago, they were 30-18 in one-run games, and 22-15 in two-run decisions, a combined total of 52-33. That translates into a .450 winning percentage in one- and two-run games in 1990 compared to a .612 winning percentage in 1989, a difference of 26 victories over the course of a 162-game season. . . . His loving Padre teammates pulled a gag on rookie pitcher Rich Rodriguez by substituting Calvin Schiraldi’s uniform top in his locker. Rodriguez unsuspectingly put on the uniform, walked to the bullpen, and then realized that something didn’t quite feel right. He pulled the top of his jersey around to see the name, and then winced in anguish. He was forced to take the long walk back to the clubhouse, via the tunnel, and change jerseys. . . . Jack Clark and Joe Carter each have 20 homers this season, marking the first time since 1986 that the Padres have had two players hit 20 homers in the same season. Kevin McReynolds (26) and Steve Garvey (21) were the last to accomplish the feat.

Tony Gwynn went three for four, taking another chunk out of Phillie center fielder Lenny Dykstra’s National League batting lead. Gwynn raised his average to .320, and Dykstra went one for five, dropping to .344. . . . The Phillies have 12 complete games by their pitching staff this season; they had 10 all of last year. . . . The Phillies’ defeat ended their season-high four-game winning streak. They have not had a longer winning streak since 1988. . . . The Phillies have a league-high nine players who have at least 30 RBIs this season; the Padres have seven. . . . The Padres will complete their three-game series against the Phillies at 1:05 p.m. today when Dennis Rasmussen (8-11) is scheduled to face Pat Combs (6-8). The Padres then will finish their home stand with a three-game series beginning Monday against the New York Mets. The pitching match-ups: Bruce Hurst (7-8) vs. Sid Fernandez (8-9) on Monday; Ed Whitson (9-7) vs. Ron Darling (5-7) Tuesday, and Calvin Schiraldi (3-5) vs. Frank Viola (15-8) on Wednesday.